this is bbc news, with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. london mps have been told the capital will move into higher restrictions from midnight on friday, meaning no household mixing indoors. it means nine million people now face tighter restrictions in the uk's capital — london's mayor had been calling for stronger measures to be put in place. meanwhile, leaders in northern england hold talks with downing street about whether lancashire and greater manchester should join liverpool in the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions. do let us know your thoughts — do you think these areas should be facing tighter restrictions? get in touch with me on twitter @annita—mcveigh or by using the #bbcyourquestions. research suggests the long—lasting

impact of a coronavirus infection may not be a single syndrome — but up to four different ones. a curfew for paris and eight other big cities in france will come into force on saturday — between 9pm and 6am. eu leaders are gathering in brussels for a two—day summit, where they'll discuss post—brexit trade negotiations for the first time in months. hello, and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. within the last few minutes, it's been announced that london

is to face extra restrictions when it moves into tier two or ‘high' risk level from midnight on friday. it comes after mps in the capital met this morning to discuss the measures. meanwhile, talks are also being held today about whether lancashire and greater manchester should be moved into tier three, the highest level of coronavirus restrictions in england. the stricter rules would mean pubs being closed and households banned from mixing. the labour mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, has threatened legal action if the limits are imposed. most of england has been put on tier one or medium level, where the rule of 6 and 10pm hospitality curfew both apply. the tier two ‘high level‘ of restrictions means no household mixing indoors, and the rule of six applying outdoors. the most severe level of tier three is called ‘very high‘ — meaning no mixing of households indoors or outdoors. pubs and bars will close unless they provide what‘s called

a substantial meal. the health secretary, matt hancock, will make a statement to mps around 11:30am this morning. let‘s cross to westminster where our political correspondent iain watson. let‘s talk about this new level of restrictions for london coming into force on friday announced in the last few minutes? not formally announced yet. it will be announced by matt hancock at 11:30 this morning but there was a meeting of london mps. they got a briefing from the deputy chief medical officer for england jenny harries and helen wa keley around 9:30 england jenny harries and helen wakeley around 9:30 and it‘s clear what emerged from that meeting is a form announcement will be made in london will be under tier two restrictions from midnight tomorrow night. what that means there no households mixing with other households mixing with other households indoors unless they form pa rt households indoors unless they form part of a support bubble. so they are moving up a tear, not at the

highest level, tier three, where pubs are forced to close. but nonetheless, this is a significant move because it will cover more than 8 million people. i think at a broad calculation, around a third of the population of england will be covered by some extra restrictions. so although the prime minister is resisting a national circuit breaking mini lockdown, lots of people now living under restriction certainly will be this weekend. in london‘s case, some of the information mps were presented with, it suggested infection rate in some boroughs had increased 7% between last we and there is. other boroughs are last we and there is. other boroughs a re less last we and there is. other boroughs are less affected. the lowest infection rate showed an increase of just 1%. so there were arguments being made that the whole of the capital shouldn‘t be taken into these restrictions but it will indeed be the whole of greater london that will be affected. this is something which the mayor of london has been arguing for for some time. he wants to get ahead of the curve on infections but he was also

distrustful of the results he was getting from the test, track and trace system. he felt a lot of the resource that had been moved away from london because london had lower infection rates than some parts of northern england but he was concerned because 111 calls were going up, hospital admissions were going up, hospital admissions were going up. so now it looks like the government has bowed to the inevitable. but it is interesting that a local government leader was pressing the government for more restrictions, whereas in other parts of the country, of course, some people have been far more resistant to increased restrictions in their areas. yes, well on that point, other parts of england are in discussions with the government about whether they should go into tier three, the highest level of restrictions. greater manchester and lancashire among them. where those discussions are going on, why has there not been an agreement reached yet, at least? i think there not been an agreement reached yet, at least? ithink this is partly due to a financial package or lack of one. we have had the government say they have got very

extensive support for areas that move into the top tier, tier three. some areas are saying there are not enough support for those authorities in tier two. in tier three, they say look, when furlough ends at the end of this month, people will still be guaranteed if they can‘t work from home, they will be guaranteed two thirds of their wages. but there has been a criticism that that hasn‘t been a criticism that that hasn‘t been generous enough. that has been what the mayor of greater manchester andy burnham has been saying, calling for a wider package of support from government more generally. also some scepticism about the data and whether the kind of restrictions the government would put on local authority areas that move into tier three would in fact be effective. some of the scientific evidence from sage suggested those measures might only have a marginal impact. there‘s been an ongoing argument and negotiation. the government can impose these restrictions if it has to but it wa nts to restrictions if it has to but it wants to get some agreement first. the one area that is already living under tier three restrictions is

what is called the liverpool city region, liverpool and the surrounding local authorities. the mayor of liverpool said he could understand why some other local authorities were reluctant to follow suit. it's not acceptable, it's not good enough and, you know, we were forced into this position and i don't blame any other city or local authorities for resisting, but the fact is the government will decide who goes into tier three today. i expect to see more today, tomorrow and over the next few days being placed in tier three. the reality is now that we've got a situation where the virus is out of control and something has to be done. 0bviously, joe anderson not been impressed with the government‘s reaction in his area and sir keir starmer is calling for a circuit breaking mini lockdown of two to three weeks which would be across the whole of england, not discriminate against particular areas. the government arguing those

areas. the government arguing those areas with low rates shouldn‘t suffer and are sticking to a regional approach. we talked about the london mps having a briefing this morning foster mps from greater manchester and lancashire will also have a briefing. we will hear from matt hancock whether any other areas will move to tighter restrictions at 11:30. 0k, thank you for that update. iain watson. germany and france have announced new coronavirus control measures. in france, there will be a night—time curfew for paris and eight other cities. germany, meanwhile, has recorded its highest number of infections since the start of the pandemic, and bars will now be forced to close early. there will also be limits on people meeting in areas with rising numbers of cases. simonjones reports. two leaders with two announcements, but one shared message — there are difficult times to come. in germany, there‘s a warning that the disease is growing exponentially. there will be new restrictions in areas with high transmission, including a curfew for bars and limits on people meeting.

translation: i'm convinced that what we do and what we don‘t do in the coming days and weeks will be decisive for the question of how we get through this pandemic, because we can see that the curves of the infection rates are pointing upwards, in parts, quite steeply. germany has recorded more than 6500 new cases — a record figure for a single day. translation: we are much closer to a second lockdown than people would like to believe. if we look at how the numbers are developing, then it's high time, maybe not even five to midnight but rather the stroke of midnight, to set the right course. in france, a state of emergency has been declared. there‘s real concern that hospitals and intensive care units will become overwhelmed. to try to stop the spread of the virus, there‘ll be no more late night dining in paris. people there and in eight other major cities will have to stay indoors from 9pm to 6am.

the curfew will come into effect from saturday and last for at least four weeks. we are pulling away from that report to go live to the mayor of london. let‘s listen in. leaders and scientific advisers. discussions with ministers are ongoing as we meet but i expect ministers to make a announcement to parliament later this morning. this movie is based on the expert public health and scientific advice about what is necessary about saving lives in the capital. —— this move is based on. this would mean different households in london not being able to mix indoors. nobody wants to see more restrictions but this is deemed to be necessary in order to protect londoners by myself, london council leaders and by ministers. as part of oui’ leaders and by ministers. as part of our discussions, i‘ve also made clear to the government that we need more financial support for london‘s

businesses, workers and public services as we face more restrictions and i will continue to make this case. given how far the virus has already been allowed to spread and given the government‘s com plete spread and given the government‘s complete failure to get a working test, trace and isolate system in place, i believe we also need action ona place, i believe we also need action on a national scale, just as the government‘s and scientific advisers have recommended. that is why i will continue to call for a short national circuit breaker. this could save thousands of lives, drive the virus down to manageable levels and give the government more time to finally get a grip on its failing test and trace system. in london, we experienced the worst of covid—19 backin experienced the worst of covid—19 back in the spring. thousands of lives were lost and their economy has been left reeling. we simply cannot afford for the government to be slow to act again. the supposed choice between saving the economy

and saving lives, between restrictions and freedoms is an entirely false one. because the later we take the necessary steps to slow the spread of the virus, the more severe these steps would have to be and the longer they would have to be and the longer they would have to last in order to drive down infection rates. no matter how much some people want to pretend otherwise and bury their heads to let me go ahead in the sand, the truth is that the health crisis and the economic crisis are inextricably linked. that is why getting the virus under control is the only way we can both protect lives and our economy. there is simply no other option. i must warn londoners that we have a difficult to winter ahead. butjust as we have done throughout our city‘s rate history, i know we will get through this dark time by pulling together. soi this dark time by pulling together. so i would urge all londoners to

continue to follow the rules, so that we can support our nhs, save lives and protect our economy. thank you, chair. i‘ve also been asked for an update. as the handling of this investigation is a matterfor the police and the case is alive, it‘s not for me to take a view on the case. as with all investigations of this kind... the mayor of london moving on to other matters but making that statement in response to the news that london is to move to tier two of coronavirus restrictions from midnight tomorrow, midnight friday and that means no household mixing indoors. it also means the rule of six playing outdoors. sadik khan saying the health and economic crises are inextricably linked and the only way to protect health and wealth is to get a grip on the virus and so he said he is continuing to

call for what he said was a short national circuit breaker, to let the government, in his words, get a grip on the test and trace system. he was critical of the government‘s handling of test, trace and isolate and said the decision to move london into tier two restrictions was based on expert public health advice. lets talk more about the state of health emergency announced in france. 0ur correspondent hugh schofield in paris explained the restrictions where he is. it‘s not as drastic as a fully fledged lockdown, which they pledged not to repeat. so, in a way, this is going as far as they can in restricting people‘s activities and movements without doing that nuclear option of shutting the place down again, with all the damage to the economy that would incur. so, because we have a greater

knowledge now than we did back in march, april about locality, regionalisation, the kind of people who were getting infected, because testing is now happening on a massive scale, it means that they have this measure to the cities, in particular those cities like paris, marseille, lille and lyon and others which are at maximum alert level, where it‘s clear the problem is in young people in their 20s and 30s socialising and not heeding the calls to keep apart. this measure is meant, i‘m sure is directed primarily at that and meant to stop people who had been going to bars, if bars were shut then going to their homes and having lock ins and house parties and so on and spreading the virus that way. it‘s to stop that. that is clearly the primary aim

of this measure and it means that from saturday, there will be, the streets will be empty, from 9pm at night. what‘s the reception been to this plan? we‘ve been talking a lot about support, economic support, for sectors that are particularly affected by these sorts of measures. what sort of support is there in france? well, there‘s plenty of support in france. of course, the restaurant trade is suffering terribly and they have said that is going to be cataclysmic for them. but they measures that were in place before are still in there, in other words, the french government furlough is in place and will be until new year for restaurants and the entertainment business so salaries are paid by the state. there is that to buoy up incomes.

as for the reception, i mean, of course, people are unhappy, of course the restaurant trade is extremely unhappy about warnings of people uprising against all this have not come to pass and i very much doubt we‘ll come to pass. there was a lot of complaining and miserable and misery as winter begins to set in, but i don‘t see people doing anything than getting on with it. hugh schofield in paris. news coming into us in the last short while. french police searching the home of the french health minister as part ofan inquiry the french health minister as part of an inquiry into the government‘s handling of the coronavirus crisis. he is one of several current or former ministers being investigated over their response to the pandemic following complaints by victims of covid—19 that they were slow to act to check it spread. the police officers also searched the home of

the director of the national health agency. donald trump‘s wife, melania, has revealed that their 14—year—old son, barron, also tested positive for covid—19. she said he was a strong teenager and had suffered no symptoms. in a personal statement, the us first lady,described her own symptoms as minimal, but said she‘d suffered from aches, a cough and tiredness. researchers have suggested that ‘long covid‘, the long—lasting impact of coronavirus infection, may not be a single syndrome, but up to four different ones. the national institute for health research says the condition could be caused by the effects of being in intensive care, with permanent organ damage of the lungs and heart, post—viral fatigue, as well as continuing covid symptoms. the review says coming up with a working diagnosis would help people access support. lesley macniven suffers from long covid. she is a campaigner and activist and set up the covid support group on facebook, which was more

than 20,000 members. thank you so much forjoining us today. tell us about when you contracted coronavirus initially. so i contracted coronavirus along with many other people at the end of march, just before lockdown. i am pa rt march, just before lockdown. i am part of the campaign team running the support group, we now have 25,000 members. it was really helpful to find out that i wasn‘t the only person with the symptoms. as your reports have shown, there is no one set of symptoms that individuals are having. what we‘ve discovered is the sort of post icu syndrome they were talking about was expected but i think what we‘ve experienced in the support group, in a slightly less visible way, is

there... there are these various symptoms that come and go. there is not a linear progression. we think we are getting better and then get setbacks and if we push ourselves a little more than we have done previously... that's interesting. i was about to ask you did you initially think you are getting better but then discover you weren‘t and have you had lots of those, oh, i think and have you had lots of those, oh, ithink i‘m and have you had lots of those, oh, i think i‘m getting better and then realise you hadn‘t? i think i‘m getting better and then realise you hadn't? exactly, exactly. there are two weeks of the honours. then after that i thought, great, i will be immune, i can help other people, it‘s me getting it out of the way early. it did have a lingering fatigue after that. but i thought fine, i will rest a bit longer. my kids are old enough they could manage and look after themselves. because i thought i was on the mend, i started media for the campaign team because i was in a lot

better condition, i don‘t have bad heart or lung issues. just really bad fatigue. in the process of doing that, i had some setbacks because i was doing a bit more. i had a relapse where for four or five weeks i wasn‘t great at all. then i feel like i am coming back from a relapse at the moment and i feel really good but for people who have a job to return to, this is a really challenging period. absolutely. you have described the physical symptoms but described the other symptoms, you think you are getting better, you think you are getting better, you are not but you are desperately hoping to get over all of these symptoms i do still haven‘t. what does that to you psychologically?m is really hard. i think as time goes on, it‘s difficult to be resilient.

in march, we all expected to be better by summer at the latest. if you can imagine how hard it‘s been living under restrictions since march, but if you are always doing that for every single day and you feel tired and fatigued and restricted in what you could do, living in cloud roles because of a lack of energy... so, absolutely. we are experiencing people who are having traumatic experiences in some cases, where they think they might die and can‘t go to hospital because they haven‘t got such bad symptoms that they feel they need to be in hospital. so we did what we were asked and stayed home to save the nhs. but the symptoms are not going away and that‘s really worrying. people are concerned they are never going to get theirjobs back, their lives back again and it is horrible,

really, really difficult to get out of bed when you are feeling like that. and with a surge in cases, that. and with a surge in cases, that must add to the layers of anxiety, as well. with this disease, right from the start it‘s clear we didn‘t know a lot about it, it kept surprising will be expert and it‘s been a very, very steep learning curve. do you feel at this point that people are really starting to recognise long covid now, the impacts and is there enough help out there yet customer i think as a campaigning group, we were delighted. the next step would have to be rehab or support. for the patients with ongoing symptoms, of which a majority of our group probably fall into that category, they have been struggling because they have been struggling because they don‘t fit in the health care system. we need to feel we are in that health care system, included and supported. and we need to check

we don‘t have any other syndromes because long—term organ damage is one of them. if we have long—term organ damage, i sit here saying i have fatigue but i have a chest tube. it‘s really important we move forward beyond recognition into support and inclusion. i know in the report you talked about inclusivity and we not excluding others... it was a core term that covered everybody. wright just briefly, was a core term that covered everybody. wrightjust briefly, if there was one thing you wish you could do right now but you can‘t because of long covid, what would it be? out campaigning in person rather than from my couch. what i would like for everybody as they are heard from someone in the profession which validates what they are going through and doesn‘t try to think it is just the fact they are depressed

orjust is just the fact they are depressed or just because of is just the fact they are depressed orjust because of anxiety because of the pandemic but says we will check out what is wrong and try to respond. lots of good campaigns have been done from couches. thank you very much, leslie. i wish you well and hope you recover. and to eve ryo ne and hope you recover. and to everyone in the group with you, best wishes to them as well. thank you very much, lesley macniven, campaigning and activist from the support group. let‘s return now to news that london will be subject to tighter restrictions from the weekend, when it‘ll enter tier two. that means households will no longer be allowed to mix indoors. the rule of six will apply outdoors as well. i‘m joined now by the mp for kingston and surbiton and leader of the liberal democrats, sir ed davey. thank you very much. do you support this move? yes, because it's increasingly clear the government has lost control of this virus across has lost control of this virus a cross waves has lost control of this virus across waves of the country. we have seenin across waves of the country. we have seen in the north and now in london. that is extremely worrying for many

people. they will be worried but they will also be frustrated at the sacrifices they have made over the last few months, that they appear to have been squandered because we haven‘t got the test, trace and isolate system in that borisjohnson promised. my concern is i‘m not sure these tiered restrictions on different parts of the country are actually going to stop this virus. we have not seen the evidence it would do and indeed, the evidence we have seen from the experts suggest we need to move to a national circuit breaker. that is what the liberal democrats are now backing. we heard sadiq khan calling for that just a few minutes ago. he said on the whole point of balancing the health question alongside the wealth question, he said the two are inextricably linked and the only way to protect both ears to get a grip of the virus. presumably from what you are saying, you share that point of view. when he called for a short national circuit breaker, what do you have in mind, what sort of period are you talking about? well,

i think we should go with what the scientists recommend and we saw in the sage report, they were talking about 2—3 weeks. i think it‘s critical, though, that we are clear that that time must be used to get the test, trace and isolate system up the test, trace and isolate system up and running far better than it‘s been. we have had too many failures on that. we can‘t ask millions of people to make a whole range of sacrifices again if they think that could be squandered. we have to get their trust back. the government has to get their trust back and that is why they have to show that this time will be used to sort out the test, trace and isolate system. if they do that, then the health and economic arguments come together. unless we deal with this virus, our economy is going to be weaker and weaker over the months and years ahead. the health and economic arguments come together. that is where the government has made a big mistake, i think. and what do you think needs to be done to sort out test, trace

and isolate? we have had months, haven‘t we, and we have seen it evolve in other countries, where it seems to be working pretty well. china particularly recently with a small outbreak in one province tested several million people in the space of a handful of days to try and shut that down. emmanuel macron just yesterday was praising the test and tray system here. what do you think needs to be done to improve it? if you look at the countries where it has worked far better, not just china but i would say south korea, germany and others, they have had much more local engagement. the government has belatedly woken up to that but it‘s still not involving local public health officials in the way it needs to be done. it‘s really clear, when the tracing is led by the public, local public health bodies and the local authorities, thenit bodies and the local authorities, then it is far more effective than then it is far more effective than the national system. at the moment, i don‘t see the government really

empowering the local officials, the public health officials and council officials given the resources to make this work. so unless that changes, you know, you said you can‘t ask people to make a whole series of sacrifices if they feel they will be squandered because test and trace isn‘t working ideally the way we would want. so have you got anything from the government, any indication from the government that they would be minded to move towards greater involvement of local officials? not so far. we hear about these discussions that they are having. we have seen that in some of our northern cities but they don‘t seem to be coming forward with the resources and the commitment to change their model. they seem so determined to run it all from whitehall and then occasionally involve others. that is not going to work. they have shown it has failed. they need to look at best practice in other countries. we know the public health officials and local

authorities have been far better. so go with what has been working, surely. the liberal democrats are calling on ministers to do that, locally led test, trace and isolate system. you are much more likely to win back the public trust, which borisjohnson win back the public trust, which boris johnson and dominic win back the public trust, which borisjohnson and dominic cummings of loss. as i'm talking to you we get news the county of essex will move from tier one to tier two, coronavirus restrictions from saturday. we are told this was at the request of officials in essex and is expected to be announced in the commons by matt hancock a little later in the next couple of hours. looking back at the london situation, i‘m not sure what the infection rate is in your constituency but there is a good deal of variation across london, isn‘t fair, some very low infection rates in some parts, in some boroughs? do you think it is right that the restrictions are capitol wide and these measures do come in from midnight tomorrow?

yes, they need to be capitol wide. we were shown a table, every borrower, the infection rate is going —— borough. it is no longer true it is just younger people getting this. the hospitalisations are going up. it is really serious. i think people in areas where the infection rate is not as high as others, they need to understand and remember what happened last time. if we wait and don‘t act with real gravity, this will get even worse. it already looks like it is out of control in vast swathes of the country. if we do not act with greater determination, following advice of scientists, it will get worst. that is why the liberal democrats having read the advice of the sage experts, now is the time a short national circuit breaker. sarah davey, thank you. very quickly, a couple of comments you

have been sending in —— ed davey. not many people in the north are happy with the restrictions and have no confidence they will work, one size. it threatens jobs no confidence they will work, one size. it threatensjobs in mental health. so frustrating, pointless if people ignore the rules. you are watching bbc news. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: london mps have been told the capital will move into higher restrictions from midnight on friday, meaning no household mixing indoors. it means nine million people now face tighter restrictions in the uk‘s capital. london‘s mayor had been calling for stronger measures to be put in place. calling for stronger must warn londoners we have i difficult i must warn londoners we have a difficult winter ahead. just as we have always in our city‘s great

history, i know we will get through this dark time by pulling together. meanwhile, leaders in northern england hold talks with downing street — about whether lancashire and greater manchester should join liverpool in the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions. research suggests the long—lasting impact of a coronavirus infection may not be a single syndrome but up to four different ones. a curfew for paris and eight other big cities in france will come into force on saturday between 9pm and 6am. eu leaders are gathering in brussels for a two—day summit where they‘ll discuss post—brexit trade negotiations for the first time in months. eu leaders are in brussels today where they‘ll discuss post—brexit trade negotiations for the first time in months. in a phone call last night, borisjohnson told the eu commission president that he was disappointed that negotiations hadn‘t yet progressed further. we heard from our correspondent in

brussels a little earlier. this was being billed as make or break a few weeks ago, but i think stock—take is the word you hear quite a lot in brussels when it comes to the summit of the remaining 27 leaders of the eu. borisjohnson actually said today would be a very hard deadline for getting a trade deal. he said that at the start of september. if one was not agreed today, that would be it. downing street‘s position has changed and the very latest from number 10 is the prime minister will listen and reflect on what is agreed between eu leaders or may be not a lot is agreed and he will say something tomorrow about the future steps the uk will be taking in terms of trying to get a trade deal. shifting deadline. realistically, with so much... you are talking about bandwidth earlier, with so much going on, dealing with covid,

do you think it is inevitable that these negotiations will actually shift further still, despite the protestations and declarations that they won‘t? protestations and declarations that they won't? people might not have much faith when i say that there is a very hard deadline when it comes to brexit. that is the fact that upon the 31st of december, the eu is leaving the transition period we have been in this year, following the eu‘s rules even though the uk has left the eu. come the 1st of january, that period ends, so they have to get a deal before that. not just a case of signing it at 11 o‘clock on 31st december, there needs to be time for a draft to be written, translated into different languages of the eu. and, crucially, to be passed in the british parliament and european parliament. it is really difficult but what we are hearing from senior eu sources here is that it could slip to the

start of next month, november, possibly mid—november, for a trade deal to be agreed. don‘t forget, both sides insist they do want one but they say they won‘t make a deal at any cost if it means giving up things really sacred to them. as you are intimating, that covid figures in so many european capitals have gone on the wrong direction in the last 24—48 hours. that is first and foremost in the minds of the leaders meeting today. this year perhaps more than any other, both candidates will be working hard to get the female vote. polls suggest white women in particular have shifted away from trump over the last four years. here‘s our population reporter stephanie hegarty. i voted for trump. women for trump. i did great with women. in 2016, donald trump claimed he won the female vote.

that he got more votes from women than the first female presidential candidate for a major party. we are doing very well with the women. but did he? i got 52% with women. no one said this would happen. and if so, could he do it again this year? amelia thompson has written extensively on women in the polls. after the last election, trump claimed publicly he had won female voters, is that correct? in 2016, slightly more white women seem to have voted for trump than voted for clinton. it was a narrow margin. he did not win women of colour. exit polls, which trump based his claims on, can be unreliable, but research in 2018 by a research centre found that 47% of white women voted for trump and only 45% for clinton. but why? i am 64 today. happy birthday. thank you. ijust was sitting here filling out my ballot. so, why did you vote

fortrump in 2016? i am a lifelong republican. i didn't like hillary either. i was kind of angry at the whole political system for giving us two terrible choices. i voted for trump in 2016 because he said he had a plan to have mexico pay for the wall, and i lived in southern california at the time. and why does this matter? because women in the us are a crucial voting bloc. they vote more than men and they vote differently. you can almost pinpoint it to an exact election, the 1980 election, when the republican party took a very hard right turn on a number of different issues. womenjust tend to be much more in favour of a robust social safety net. polls suggest white women are changing their minds about trump, giving biden the biggest lead among women of any candidate in history. this man is the leader of our country, he is

the commander—in—chief, and we cannot believe a word he says. i am watching him refuse to take any responsibility for this pandemic, just how he was mishandling it. separating families at the border, that did it for me. there is big division among white women too. most clearly along the lines of education. polls suggest biden is gaining the most ground among women with a college degree. it is important not to paint with a broad brush. there are plenty of white women with college degrees who are going to vote for trump. and polls are just predictions, they are not always accurate. people can change their mind. right up to november 3rd, the contest for women in this election will be fiercely fought. stephanie hegarty, bbc news. president trump, who once claimed he‘d charmed angela merkel, remains deeply unpopular in germany. the president has repeatedly singled out what was once a close ally for criticism over its defence, trade and foreign policies during his time in office.

no wonder, then, as our berlin correspondentjenny hill reports, germans are watching the presidential election campaign with keen interest. it‘s the mightiest political clash in the world, and germany feels every blow. american culture pumps through this country‘s veins. the race for the white house eagerly watched by the berlin thunderbirds, most of whom have close ties to the states. you‘re just kind of like a bystander and don‘t have any influence, but in the end, it does influence you, personally. this country has long had a soft spot for america. 0ne president in particular sent pulses racing in postwar germany. ich bin ein berliner. 60 years on, germany has little enthusiasm for the current commander—in—chief. "for my generation," uta tells us,

"born after the war, americans were a great example of freedom and democracy. that ended with trump." the president once claimed he‘d charmed angela merkel. she‘s never warmed to his style or his politics. at least we have something in common, perhaps. but angela merkel won‘t be dealing with the white house for much longer. this man is one of the contenders hoping to replace her when she stands down next year. we are concerned the prospect of another four years would not only mean that we would see more of the same, but i'm quite certain we would see an acceleration of everything we have experienced, because then president trump would not be under the pressure to be re—elected, he would be unshackled. the countries are supposed to be allies. military partners,

but they have clashed, notjust over defence spending and us troops in germany, but over trade, climate change and foreign policy. differences which, some warn, won‘t entirely disappear if america votes in a new president. the difficulties that we have experienced over the last three and a half years have indeed also served as a useful wake—up call for germany to begin to reflect about its own responsibilities. germany is looking on with particular angst. that is because, for so long, this country has considered america its team—mate. the last four years have undermined that trust. what happens next might repair the relationship or simply deepen the division. and as the us thrashes out its future path, germany, perhaps europe, may need to change its game plan. jenny hill, bbc news, berlin.

the european commission has warned that eu governments are unprepared for the new surge of coronavirus infections and recommended common measures to roll out vaccines, should they become available. speaking in the last hour, the european commission vice—president urged governments to adopt a common strategy for the new phase of the pandemic and avoid the cacophony of different national measures. we‘re joined now by anniek de rujiter, associate professor of european health law at university of amsterdam. author of the book eu health law and policy. back to the beginning of the pandemic in the eu, to begin at the beginning, compatible as how the eu was acting then in terms of health solidarity with how it is acting now. what you saw in the beginning of course is one of the cornerstones of course is one of the cornerstones of the eu integration, the internal

market, the open borders, actually immediately broke down as member states imposed export plans. but actually, father quickly, the eu was able to stop those types of measures. “— able to stop those types of measures. —— export bans. it came together for instance in respect of the purchasing of medical equipment. if you compare it, for instance, to the swine flu outbreak, looking at vaccines now, part of the important topic of the press conference just now, he really see that —— you really see there is a lot more integration and cooperation at the eu level right now, still not perfect, but a marked difference with how things went in the swine flu. what is being talked about today, broader cooperation, is that the right strategy given what we know about covid ? the right strategy given what we know about covid? how would a

vaccine be rolled out across the eu? what is interesting is that medicines have been one of the most important first elements of the eu‘s corporation already since the 605. —— cooperation. the approval of medicine5 has been an essential powered the eu has. what we now see which is really hi5toric i5 powered the eu has. what we now see which is really hi5toric is the eu i5 which is really hi5toric is the eu is also purchasing the vaccines which then immediately follows also a policy that is presented today about how these vaccines should be distributed to people. and i think the fact that eu is now purchasing the5e vaccines immediately also means it will have a strong role in the way that the vaccine is distributed. for instance, with identifying priority groups. really determining who gets this vaccine

first. of course, it needs the co—operation of the member states to ensure this is done in a harmonised manner. what does all of this mean for the uk manner. what does all of this mean forthe uk and manner. what does all of this mean for the uk and any roll—out of a vaccine? the uk has left the eu but some big pharma companies in the uk with manufacturing plants have established ba5e5 acro55 with manufacturing plants have established ba5e5 across the eu, so what does it mean for the uk when it comes to any potential vaccine being rolled out? if indeed the policy works the way they european commi55ion works the way they european commission has proposed it today, that means what we will see is a similar way of prescribing and prioritising the vaccine distribution across eu member states. of course, the uk has backed out of the common purchasing programme that the eu has right now and of course it has a strong

manufacturing capability within the uk. at the same time, it is still dependent on the european market because 5till dependent on the european market because still some of its manufacturing components of vaccines are still created also for instance in belgium. so i think uk citizen5 will also ask the question, why it might be the uk not following similar ways of distributing the vaccine a5 similar ways of distributing the vaccine as they are doing in the eu? what we see now, the types of que5tion5 what we see now, the types of questions asked now, why are there so many different policies, health policies, acro55 member states? people will ask that question when it comes to the way a vaccine, tho5e types of measures, one, two jab5, why would it be different if we are talking about the same vaccine? for example, the oxford vaccine. people

will ask a lot of questions if the uk is doing something completely different and 27 other eu member states. thank you, professor, thank you for your time. china has already approved a covid—19 vaccine for emergency or military u5e. and russia has approved two vaccines for third and final phase trials. but there‘s been skepticism internationally on the russian vaccines. 0ur correspondent in moscow is sarah rainsford. of course, there have been que5tion5 on the questions were initially because russia was so slow to publi5h because russia was so slow to publish the science behind the trials. in the case of the first vaccine, it has done that and publi5hed vaccine, it has done that and published in the lancet medical magazine. the second vaccine, the information from the phase two trials has not been made public yet. questions of course 5till trials has not been made public yet. questions of course still exist. interesting in terms of the public mood here. a lot of people are quite 5ceptical, a lot of people and

surveys have suggested they would not be willing to have the vaccine ju5t not be willing to have the vaccine just yet, they are rather dubiou5 about how effective it could be or how safe it is. interestingly, a big pu5h by officials here, many saying publicly they have had the vaccine. mo5t famously, president putin‘s daughter he announced he had the first vaccine. a big push from the official site in the public generally some scepticism and a lot of people waiting to see what information comes out about the phase three trials of the first and second vaccine, and there is a third one currently under research and they are expecting to be able to register that towards the end of the year. sarah raynsford. more people are dying in scotland from illegal drugs than any other country in europe, with almost 1,200 people dying from drug misuse in 2018. many experts think the figures for last year,

which were delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, will be even higher. but a new prescription drug called buvidal is being described a5 a " by drugs workers. lorna gordon reports. in scotland more than three people every a re in scotland more than three people every are dying from illegal more chance becoming a drug addict in glasgow... you want a bad? we want heroin? you want this, you want that? on some streets in glasgow, you don‘t have to walk far to find people using. blue ones, white ones. who is that for? mmmmiiii. for more than 20 years, this was due to the‘5 life. —— for me. he lost loved ones to drugs. ifi had not life. —— for me. he lost loved ones to drugs. if i had not changed life. —— for me. he lost loved ones to drugs. ifi had not changed my ways, i would have died. to drugs. ifi had not changed my way5, iwould have died. i

to drugs. ifi had not changed my ways, i would have died. i don‘t think my mum would be able to 5urvive losing another boy. think my mum would be able to survive losing another boy. for the last nine months, he has been taking a medication that blocks him craving heroin. it is life changing. managed to get me clean off methadone and clea n to get me clean off methadone and clean off heroine. how has your week been? this is what he takes, one injection once a month of buvidal. the first new development in use in treating addiction to opiates. for our patients, it is a game changer. their lives have improved in many ways. less drug use, better interaction with families, children. sometimes... we have managed to detox a number of patients from buvidal. the challenge can be getting u5er5 buvidal. the challenge can be getting users to engage with service5. getting users to engage with

services. they wanted a place where they can take drugs under 5upervi5ion. at the uk government 5et 5upervi5ion. at the uk government set a safe consumption room would be illegal. thi5 former heroin u5er set a safe consumption room would be illegal. thi5 former heroin user is taking matters into his own hands, operating a van where users can take their own drugs in a controlled environment. if we give them a safe place to consume drugs, we can keep them alive and also offer so many other things in terms of things like buvidal, methadone, which can actually improve the quality of people‘s lives beyond measure. buvidal i5 people‘s lives beyond measure. buvidal is not suitable for everyone. expert5 buvidal is not suitable for everyone. experts are wary of words like miracle drug. but it is already helping fixed some lives and they wa nt helping fixed some lives and they want that to continue. lorna gordon, bbc news, glasgow. a mother of a young boy with down‘s syndrome has made a series of cue cards designed to help people use appropriate language when talking about the condition. she created the cards after she experienced

unintentionally hurtful comments about her son. a hospital in cornwall has recently started using them. anna varle reports. can you say "bubbles"? b-b-b-b... when i had arthur, one year ago, i did not know he had down syndrome, so when i was told, it was a real 5hock to me and i realised that i had really outdated, negative vi5ion5 around down syndrome. where‘5 arthur? there he is! so, i thought, "where do these views come from?" and then i realised they‘ve come from language. through the year, i heard it on a daily basis and each time it really hurt. can i have a kiss? becca developed a series of cards online during lockdown to change the language that people use to talk about down syndrome. rather than saying "a down syndrome baby",

arthur is a baby first. he‘5 arthur, who is a baby who has down syndrome. this is probably one of the most important to me. i hear it and it really hurts this one, this is "with a typical baby", so sometimes someone will say, "well, with a normal child..." i think, he is normal. he‘s not typical — he‘5 normal. in just weeks, they have been shared worldwide. charities, such as mencap, are making them a part of their national campaign and becca‘s local hospital is showing the cards on every screen, in every department, 2a hours a day. evan when we really try to get it right, sometimes we can get it wrong. so, this kind of initiative helps us hugely, both our staff and anyone coming into the hospital can have an opportunity to read and see it and there is an opportunity to understand what it's like, the emotional impact that the language we use has for them. angie is helping becca share

the cards far and wide. she train5 midwive5, gps and consultants all over the country in how to speak to parents who have a child with down syndrome. we‘ve come a long way in this country and across the world in how we talk about down syndrome and refer to people and treat people with down syndrome, but there‘s a lot more work to be done. so, becca‘s cards have come at a good time where she has 5implified things right down to some simple and accessible messages. becca is now aiming to get these cards in every hospital and school in the country. let‘s, all together, make an inclusive world, so i don‘t have to hear these things, so arthur does not have to hear them growing up and they are such a tiny 5hift in language and they mean so much, notjust to me, but one in 1,000 babies has down syndrome, so that‘s hundreds of thousands of people these cards will make a difference to. anna varle, bbc news.

high temperatures around the world have made last month the hottest september since they began keeping records in 1880, according to us climatologi5t5. the seven warmest september5 have occurred in the last seven years. you‘re watching bbc news. martin is here next to take you through to one o‘clock. —— martin. carole kirkwood has the weather. hello, again. over the next few days, even into the weekend, the weather‘s going to be fairly quiet. now, having said that, there will still be times when we‘ve got areas of cloud acro55 u5 but there‘ll equally be some sunny 5kies. however, some of us will see some showers and, actually, with the thicker cloud, we could also see some drizzle. so today what we‘ve got is high pressure just to the north of the uk and, around that, we‘re pulling in brisk north—easterly wind5, chilly direction, you‘ll notice that if you‘re walking along the coast and it‘s also bringing in a bit more cloud and some 5howers. further west, it‘5 drier and it‘s brighter and we‘re

seeing some 5un5hine. so, brighter skies acro55 south—west england this afternoon but for the channel islands, kent, east anglia, expect some 5hower5. as we push further north into northern england, one or two showers. northern ireland and western scotland largely dry with some 5un5hine but the cloud in the east of scotland drifting west over the course of the afternoon. temperatures about 10—13 degrees but, don‘t forget, tempered by that north—easterly brisk wind. now, as we head on through the evening and overnight, we still will have a fair bit of cloud around and there will also be some 5howers. but we‘ll see some clearer skies out towards the west, and here we could also see some patchy mist and fog forming. temperatures falling to between 3—8 degrees, but in rural areas, temperatures will fall a bit lower than this, especially under clearer 5kies. now, through tomorrow, once again, we‘ve got all this cloud coming in, perhaps a bit more cloud acro55 parts of scotland, where we‘ll see some drizzle in the east. for england, for wales, for northern ireland, it‘s a mixture of bright 5pells, areas of cloud, some sunny skies and just a few 5howers.

but in lighter wind5, perhaps it won‘t feel quite as cool as it‘s going to do today, particularly along the north sea coastline. top temperatures up to about 13—111. saturday, a slight change in the weather in that we‘re looking at a difference in the wind direction, more of a northerly. so, around the coast of the north, we could see some showers coming in. come further south and we‘re looking at drier and brighter conditions, again with large areas of cloud and some sunny spell5 at times. temperatures 8—11; degrees. then on sunday, well, it‘s very similar, actually. once again, a fair bit of cloud around, some 5un5hine but later in the day, we could see some rain coming into the north—west. for the beginning of the week, it turns more unsettled.

this is bbc news, i‘m martine croxall. the headlines: london mp5 have been told the capital will move into higher re5trictions from midnight on friday — meaning no household mixing indoors. it means nine million people now face tighter re5trictions in the uk‘5 capital — london‘s mayor had been calling for stronger measures to be put in place. i must warn londoner5 that we‘ve got a difficult winter ahead. butju5t as we‘ve always done throughout our city‘5 great history, i know we will get through this dark time by pulling together. the county of essex will also move from to higher coronavirus re5trictions from saturday. we‘re expecting tho5e restrictions to be confirmed by the health secretary matt hancock shortly.

meanwhile leaders in northern england hold talks with downing street about whether lancashire and greater manchester should go into the highest tier of coronavirus re5trictions — the mayor of greater manchester is due to speak shortly. research suggests the long—lasting impact of a coronavirus infection may not be a single 5yndrome — but up to four different ones. a curfew for paris and eight other big cities in france will come into force on saturday between 9pm and 6am. eu leaders are gathering in brussels for a two—day summit where they‘ll discu55 post—brexit trade negotiations for the first time in months. hello and welcome if you‘re watching in the uk or around

the world — and stay with us for the latest news and analysis from here and across the globe. here in the uk, it‘s been announced that london and the neighbouring county of essex are to face extra re5trictions when they move into tier 2 or the ‘high‘ risk level from midnight on friday. speaking in the last hour, the london mayor sadiq khan 5aid there was no other option to protect lives and the economy in the capital. it comes after london‘s mp5 met this morning to discuss the measures. most of england has been put on tier 1 or ‘medium level‘, where the rule of six and 10pm hospitality curfew both apply. the tier 2 ‘high level‘ of restrictions means no household mixing indoors, and the rule of six applying outdoor5. the most severe level of tier 3 is called ‘very high‘ meaning no mixing of households indoors or outdoors. pubs and bars will close unless they provide what‘s called "a substantial meal". the health secretary matt hancock will make a statement to mp5 at 11.30. but mr khan criticised the government for not acting sooner

to curb the spread of the virus. given how far the virus has already been allowed to spread and given the government‘s complete failure to get a working te5t, trace and isolate system in place, i believe we also need action at a national scale ju5t as the government‘s own scientific advisers have recommended. that‘s why i‘ll continue to call for a short, national circuit breaker. this could save thousands of lives, drive the virus down to manageable levels and give the government more time to finally get a grip on its failing test and trace 5y5tem. in london, we experienced the worst of covid—19 back in the spring. thousands of lives were lost and our economy has been left reeling. we simply can‘t afford for the government to be slow to act again. the supposed choice between saving the economy and saving lives, between restrictions and freedoms is an entirely false one. because the later we take the necessary steps to slow

the spread of the virus, the more severe these steps will have to be and the longer they will have to last in order to drive down infection rates. no matter how much some people want to pretend otherwise and bury their heads in the sand, the truth is, that the health crisis and the economic crisis are inextricably linked. that‘s why getting the virus under control is the only way we can both protect lives and our economy. there‘s simply no other option. let‘s cross to westminster where our political correspondent iain watson has more. we have got leaders in different parts of the country making different demands of the government? that is right, it is a consequence

of the regional approach boris johnson has adopted. different parts of the country have different rates of the country have different rates of infection and they have different degrees of resistance on how to tackle it and have very much their own views. we heard there from the mayor of london to move london into tier 2, no households mixing indoors. we have had more tricky conversations between downing street and the mayor of manchester, andy burnham. we will be hearing from him soon but some of the greater manchester mp5 have been involved in a call in the past hour. they are telling me that no decision has been taken whether to move greater manchester into the most severe restrictions, into tier 3 and the government is hoping to get a negotiated settlement with local government leaders in that part of england. in addition to that, i am told matt hancock is making a statement in the house of commons in about half an hour and he is getting

increasingly frustrated with the rate of progress. the issue in greater manchester appears to be a lack of what the local government leaders there regard as an inadequate financial package. some are talking about taking legal action against the government because they don‘t believe the hospitality sector is being generously compensated enough if a large swathes of it have to close. in addition you have the mayor of london and andy burnham take this view that they believe the best way of getting the virus under control isn‘t so much a purely regional approach but restrictions at national level, like the circuit breaker, the mini lockdown of two or three weeks which sir keir starmer has called for. different views in different parts of the country which means that we are likely to get different patchwork of different restrictions. in london, the restrictions. in london, the restrictions will come in from midnight tonight. greater manchester, the conversations are continuing, as they are in

lancashire. we heard from sir ed daveyin lancashire. we heard from sir ed davey in the past hour, he is also a london empty and he believes it is right to take further action. every borough, the infection rate is going up. it's also going up amongst the over 60s. it is no longer true, as some people have made out, that it's just younger people getting this. the hospitalisations are going up, this is really serious and i think people in areas where the infection rate isn't as high as others, i think they need to understand and remember what happened last time. if we wait and don't act with real gravity then this will get even worse. it already looks like it's out of control in vast swathes of the country. if we don't act with greater determination and follow the advice of the scientists, it's going to get worse. sir ed davey, the lib dems leader calling for further action and approving the action to move london into new restrictions from this weekend. what is interesting, not

all london mp5 agree with that approach. there was data presented to them this morning which showed the rate of infection in hackney had increased by 7% in the past week alone. but in the city of london, the square mile, infections have only gone up by 1%. there were arguments that should be done by different boroughs, the 33 different local authorities. but that has been rejected by the government and the whole city goes into tier 2 from midnight tomorrow night. what is interesting there, if you add london to the areas already under restrictions, looking at those under enhanced restrictions, ifi restrictions, looking at those under enhanced restrictions, if i can put it that way, around a third of the population are now under those increased restrictions. although borisjohnson is increased restrictions. although boris johnson is opposing increased restrictions. although borisjohnson is opposing a national lockdown, bit by bit in response to the virus, more and more local authority areas are having greater

instructions getting imposed on them or asking for those restrictions to be imposed. iain watson, thank you very much for the latest from westminster. we have the latest test and trace figures for england that 889,874 new people tested positive for covid—19 england ending the week of october the 7th. an increase of 64% in positive cases and the highest number since test and trace was launched since the end of may. and as a consequence of those figures, we are told the england test and trace system managed to tra nsfer test and trace system managed to transfer 76.8% of those contacts to the tracing system. so they were contacted the tracing system. so they were co nta cted to the tracing system. so they were contacted to let them know they had beenin contacted to let them know they had been in contact with someone with coronavirus. they are saying... this isa

coronavirus. they are saying... this is a huge number, 216,627 people we re is a huge number, 216,627 people were identified as coming into close contact with someone who tested positive and 22.6% of them were reached. we have been told that for the first time in seven months, the queen is leaving a royal residence to carry out her first public engagement. she isjoining the duke of cambridge near salisbury at the defence science and technology laboratory. we know the queen and the duke of edinburgh went into isolation, like a lot of people of their age to keep them safe. but she has now decided to venture out for the first time in seven months. we have been talking about these traffic restrictions that are due to come into force in london. what do those tougher tier 2 restrictions mean for london in practice but also the neighbouring county of essex? 0ur health correspondent

anna collinson is here. the whole of england is under some form of restrictions but most fall into the medium category where the rule of six applies and there is a ten o‘clock curfew. but from saturday london will be moving into tier 2, also known as high risk and the aim is to reduce household to household transmission. but just the aim is to reduce household to household transmission. butjust a bit ofan household transmission. butjust a bit of an update on data when we are looking at covid in london. hospital admissions are keeping up —— creeping up. in london, nearly 400 covid patients are in hospital at moment and 77 are on a ventilator. in comparison with the north, not just the north, the north—west, there are 1500 covid patients in hospital and 135 on a ventilator. the london mayor says the virus is spreading rapidly and they have no choice but to take these steps. this means from saturday, millions of londoners will be banned from mixing

with other households indoors unless they are in a bubble. this also includes pubs and restaurants. people can beat outdoors but they have to follow the rule of six. in england, that means people from various households, including children, can meet but they must socially distance and limit how many people they meet over a period of time, saya people they meet over a period of time, say a matter of weeks. we must point out, particularly for people watching from outside the uk, the different component parts of the united kingdom act differently. we are talking about england at the moment, scotland, wales and northern ireland have autonomy over these decisions. tier 2, how far back into those old restrictions we saw earlier in the year will come into play again? for example, can you go to the gym, go to the hairdresser? this is so important, we hear about these restrictions but when you apply them to modern day life it can be complicated. the whole point of

these systems was to try and make things easier. if you live in london and wanted to go for dinner with your friend and wanted to go for dinner with yourfriend on and wanted to go for dinner with your friend on saturday, and wanted to go for dinner with yourfriend on saturday, would and wanted to go for dinner with your friend on saturday, would you be able to go? you would need to be thinking about, do you live with them or in a support bubble? if you are not, you cannot meet with them ina are not, you cannot meet with them in a restaurant, a bar, you cannot meet with them in their household or yours. but you could meet in a park. it might be a bit cold, but you could have a picnic, if you are socially distancing. if you wanted to get the tube all the bus, the advice, what people are being asked to do is avoid using public transport unless it is necessary. if you are a key worker, if you travel you are a key worker, if you travel you must wear a face mask unless you are exempt. most people are being advised to walk or cycle if possible. you mentioned the word bubble, where you nominated a particular other household that you we re

particular other household that you were going to form an extended households with, but not everybody could do it, it was only certain individuals were allowed to? basically, it is quite limited. it is where a person living on their own can form a single parent, a single parent could form a bubble or a person living on their own could form a bubble with another household, for example, i formed form a bubble with another household, for example, iformed a bubble with my mum, who lives on her own. the idea was those types of bubbles can give emotional support and help people who may be feeling isolated and alone during very difficult times. some of the consequences of breaking these rules, even if you do so unwittingly have got heavier? yes, they have. for example, if you are going on the tube and the bus and you don‘t wear a mask and you don‘t have an exemption card, you can be fine. across the country, we are seeing these rules moved from being request or advice to becoming mandatory. it

is very important that you are aware of them, particularly if you are in tier 3. anna, for the moment, thank you very much. there was a call taking place between number ten downing st and greater manchester leaders regarding which level of restrictions might have to be imposed in that part of the north west of england, but there has been no agreement on you restrictions we are told and there will be further meetings later today. we were expecting to hear from the mayor of greater manchester, andy burnham, around now. but that statement has been postponed or cancelled, we are not sure, because those discussions are still taking place. the hospitality industry is warning of the impact of restrictions on businesses. let‘s get some reaction from kate nicholls, the chief executive of industry group uk hospitality. kate, this is becoming a habit, talking to you about how things are

changing for your members. moving into tier 2, for example in london and essex, which we know is imminent, what will that mean for hospitality businesses? it seems as though it is a very small change but it will be absolutely catastrophic, particularly for hospitality in central london the city, the west end and the central activity zone. those businesses are seeing low levels of trade because of requirements to work from home, a drop in domestic and international tourism and the result of the curfew and other restrictions. the best that are hospitality businesses are doing in central london is 40% of their normal trading levels but it goes down to about 15% of normal trade in central london. the shift to then restrict households mixing in pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels, we know it takes off a further 15 to 20%. so many of these

businesses on saturday in central london, they will be unsustainable and equally in neighbourhoods in 0uter and equally in neighbourhoods in outer london, those businesses will find it very difficult to trade with those restrictions. they are already operating below profit and this will push them to closure and we fear without government support from the 1st of november there will be mass redundancies in hospitality in central london. it is that maximum restriction, no support that is causing the real pain. we are coming up causing the real pain. we are coming up to christmas which is a time when those businesses would normally be doing a roaring trade, office parties and nights out with friends to celebrate the festive season. what government support is there when it is a tear to restriction that has been imposed? very, very little. the legal restrictions are falling on hospitality but we are reliant on the sport that is provided to other parts of the economy, factory, retailers. it is

disproportionate, we have no additional support. we have furlough until the 1st of november, which means we can 60% of all revenues, but we have to top up 20% so employers who have no revenue or having to pay. from the 1st of november, really uncertain whether our businesses will be able to access the new job our businesses will be able to access the newjob support scheme, but in any case that requires businesses to pay 55% of wages and hospitality cannot afford to do that with no revenue. you have a really squeezed middle in tier 2 with next to no help, maximum restrictions and no alternative but job to no help, maximum restrictions and no alternative butjob losses and we have 900,000 workers supported by full furlough in hospitality whose jobs are on the line from the 1st of november until we can get help. it is ironic you have to be closed in tier 3 before you get help and support. thank you once again. (pres)germany and france have announced new coronavirus control measures.

in france, there will be a night—time curfew for paris and eight other cities. germany has recorded its highest number of infections since the start of the pandemic, and bars will now be forced to close early. there will also be limits on people meeting in areas with rising numbers of cases. simonjones reports. two leaders with two announcements, but one shared message — there are difficult times to come. in germany, there‘s a warning that the disease is growing exponentially. there will be new restrictions in areas with high transmission, including a curfew for bars and limits on people meeting. translation: i'm convinced that what we do and what we don‘t do in the coming days and weeks will be decisive for the question of how we get through this pandemic, because we can see that the curves of the infection rates are pointing upwards, in parts, quite steeply. germany has recorded more than 6500 new cases — a record figure for a single day. translation: we are much closer to a second lockdown than people would like to believe.

if we look at how the numbers are developing, then it's high time, maybe not even five to midnight but rather the stroke of midnight, to set the right course. in france, a state of emergency has been declared. there‘s real concern that hospitals and intensive care units will become overwhelmed. to try to stop the spread of the virus, there‘ll be no more late night dining in paris. people there and in eight other major cities will have to stay indoors from 9pm to 6am. the curfew will come into effect from saturday and last for at least four weeks. president macron appeared on tv with a sobering message accompanied by a rallying cry. translation: we have not lost control, we are in a situation which is worrying and means we should not remain inactive, but we should not panic. we cannot get through this if eve ryo ne panic. we cannot get through this if everyone does not play their part, doesn‘t do their bit.

everyone does not play their part, doesn't do their bit. an example of this in the czech republic. police raided a restaurant which was supposed to be closed. they found the guests had been moved to a seller to carry on drinking and partying. and in the netherlands, a last hurrah. bars, restaurants and cafes are closing. the warning there, like in many other european countries, is if the coronavirus rates don‘t come down, more drastic measures may be needed. simonjones, bbc measures may be needed. simon jones, bbc news. researchers have suggested that ‘long covid‘, the long—lasting impact of coronavirus infection, may not be a single syndrome, but up to four different ones. the national institute for health research says the condition could be caused by the effects of being in intensive care, permanent organ damage of the lungs and heart, post—viral fatigue, as well as continuing covid symptoms. the review says coming up with a ‘working diagnosis‘

would help people access support. lesley macniven, suffers from long covid. she is a campaigner and activist and works with the covid support group on facebook, which has twenty five thouand members. she says it is hard to classify the symptoms of the disease. there is no one set of symptoms that individuals are having. what we have discovered is the post—intensive—ca re discovered is the post—intensive—care syndrome they are talking about was expected, but what we‘ve experienced in the support group in a kind of slightly less visible way is that there is these various symptoms, we think we are getting better and then we have setbacks if we push ourselves just a tiny bit more than we have done previously. with deadlines approaching our reality check correspondent chris morris is here with a look back at the discussions over

the past few months. it isa it is a complicated picture, it a lwa ys it is a complicated picture, it always is? the post—brexit negotiations with the eu are finally closing in on decision time. so, how did we get to this point? let‘s go back nearly a year to the election in december 2019 when after months of parliamentary deadlock borisjohnson won a huge majority with the electoral slogan "get brexit done". little more than a month later — on january 31st this year we were out — out of the eu and its political institutions, but straight into a transition period where all the rules and regulations stayed the same. talks on a future relationship with the eu began in march covering trade, security, fishing, data, dispute resolution and more. but they soon became overshadowed by the coronavirus crisis, and progress was slow.

the negotiations rumbled on through the spring and summer — and here‘s just one reminder of why they matter — in 2019 the uk exported £300 billion of goods and services to the eu — about 43% of all uk exports; and it imported £372 billion from the eu, about 51% of all imports. that share of overall uk trade taken up by the eu has fallen over the last 20 years, but it‘s still by far the uk‘s largest and of course closest trading partner. by september it was more than clear what the main sticking points were, preventing the emergence of even a basic trade deal — state aid or government subsidies for business, fisheries and governance, how to police any deal in the future. and then the stakes were raised. on september 7th borisjohnson set a deadline of october 15th for reaching a deal or focusing on no deal0n september eighth the government published its internal market bill which it admitted would break international law by overriding agreements about northern ireland

in the brexit divorce deal. and on september 23rd the government announced lorry drivers would need a permit to enter kent after the transition period ends, and warned of a worst case scenario of queues of 7000 lorries waiting to cross the channel. and now we‘ve reached october, with the time for negotiations almost at an end. today‘s deadline, set by the prime minister, looks set to be extended — but not by very much. so a deal can be done, but both sides are going to have to give ground. and don‘t forget, the economic part of brexit — leaving the eu‘s single market and customs union takes place at the end of this year, deal or no deal. so, whatever happens in the next few weeks, big change is coming injust two and a half months‘ time. donald trump‘s wife,

melania, has revealed that their 14—year—old son, barron, also tested positive for covid—19. she said he was a strong teenager and had suffered no symptoms. in a personal statement, the us first lady, described her own symptoms as minimal. you are watching bbc news. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with carol. hello again. the weather over the next few days will be quiet. there will be times and we have areas of cloud across us but there will be some sunny skies but there will be some sunny skies but some will see showers and out of the thick cloud we could see some drizzle. today we have high pressure just to the north of the uk. around that we are pulling in brisk, north—easterly winds, chilly direction and you will notice as you walk along the coast and it is bringing in more cloud and showers. further west it is drier, brighter and we are seeing some sunshine. brighter skies across south—west england this afternoon but for the channel islands, kent and east

anglia, expect showers. as we push further north into northern england, one or two showers... temperatures about 13 degrees but tempered by the north—easterly brisk wind. as we head on through the evening and overnight, we still will have a fair bit of cloud around and there will also be some showers. we see some clearer skies out towards the west and here we could see some pasty mitch and fogg forming. temperatures falling to between three and 8 degrees but in rural areas, temperatures will fall a bit lower than this, especially under clear skies. tomorrow, we have this cloud coming in and perhaps a bit more cloud across parts of scotland where we will see some drizzle and ease. for england, wales and northern ireland, it is a mixture of bright spells, areas of cloud and some sunny spells and just a few showers. but in lighter winds, perhaps it won‘t feel as cool as it is today, particularly along the north sea

coastline. top temperatures up to 13 or 14. saturday, slight change in the weather that we are looking in a different and the wind direction, more of a northerly. around the coast of the north we could see some showers coming in and further south we are looking at drier and brighter conditions with large areas of cloud and some sunny spells at times. temperatures eight to about 14 degrees. and then on sunday, it is very similar. 0nce degrees. and then on sunday, it is very similar. once again, a fair bit of cloud around, some sunshine but later in the day we could see some rain coming into the north—west and then from the beginning of the week, it more unsettled.

hello this is bbc news. the headlines: london mp5 have been told the capital will move into higher restrictions from midnight on friday — meaning no household mixing indoors.

it means nine million people now face tighter restrictions in the uk‘s capital. london‘s mayor had been calling for stronger measures to be put in place. i must warn londoners that we have got a difficult winter ahead. butjust as we have always done throughout our city‘s great history, i know we will get through this dark time by pulling together. talks between greater manchester leaders and government officials about new restrictions end with no agreement — with further meetings taking place today. latest nhs test and trace figures for england show almost a third of in—person tests were turned around within 24 hours — up from just over a quarter on the previous week. research suggests the long—lasting impact of a coronavirus infection may not be a single syndrome — but up to four different ones. a curfew for paris and eight other big cities in france will come into force on saturday — between 9pm and 6am. eu leaders are gathering in brussels for a two—day summit where they‘ll discuss post—brexit trade negotiations for

the first time in months. we will be going over to the house of commons very shortly where we are expecting the health secretary matt hancock to make a statement about the change, the increase in various restrictions in parts of the country. no doubt he will particularly talk about the increase to tear to restrictions that are coming into force in london and essex. we mice get some indication from him about what is happening with the greater manchester where the leaders of northern england have beenin the leaders of northern england have been in discussions with officials from number 10 downing street, but no agreement we are told just yet. we just no agreement we are told just yet. wejust mentioned in no agreement we are told just yet. we just mentioned in the no agreement we are told just yet. wejust mentioned in the headlines the improvement for the turnaround times of in person covid—19 tests,

33% were returned within 24 hours. in the figures from the week the first to the 7th of october. that was up from 27% the previous week. but this is still well below the figure for the peak of the end of june when 90% of in—person tests we re june when 90% of in—person tests were turned around within 24 hours. the welsh first minister, mark drakeford, has defended the decision to ban people from virus hotspots visiting wales. it comes after a warning from the police federation of england and wales that the ban — due to be brought in on friday — would be ‘unenforceable‘. the first minister said the decision was made after consulting welsh police forces. we would not have thought of introducing this if we had not, of course, discussed it first of all with police forces here in wales, with the police and crime commissioners. they will take the action that they need to take, but enforcement is the final resort,

not the first resort. what we want to do is to reinforce the message to people that this is a public health emergency, that they should not be travelling from high incidence areas to low incidence areas wherever they are, notjust in wales, but in england and scotland, as well. we are reinforcing that rule here in wales. most people, we know, will want to do the right thing, and this is an attempt to make sure thatjust as welsh people in high incidence areas are not able to travel out of those areas, people from beyond wales are not able to do that either. hundreds of under—655 in the uk died from heart problems like strokes and cardiac arrests as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, a leading charity has warned. according to the british heart foundation there have been more than 800 "excess" deaths from heart and circulatory problems

among those aged under 65 since the start of march. it blames delays in asking for help and reduced access to routine tests and treatment. the nhs said it had continued to offer treatment for urgent and routine heart problems. covid—19 has created a perfect storm for heart and circulatory patients. we know that having heart and circulatory disease or its risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension, is itself a risk for the more severe covid—19 and death. but this new data and analysis shows that patients are dying in excess of the numbers expected. a former government adviser on homelessness is warning that the uk faces what she calls a "period of destitution" where families "can‘t put shoes on their children‘s feet". the treasury has promised

to pay two—thirds of wages for workers if their employers are forced to close under tougher covid restrictions from november 1st. but speaking to the bbc, dame louise casey said that the reduced level of support was "not going to cut it". the thing i‘m really worried about is what is happening in families. it‘s less visible but i am really concerned about this latest change now which is taking even more income from these families and my own view and i use this word carefully, is that we are looking at a period of destitution and the government should consider how to deal with a rise in destitution, notjust two—thirds here or free school meals over summer, but something much more coherent, about how you make sure you keep people not hungry and not stuck in homelessness. let‘s bring you some further information about those talks that

we re information about those talks that were taking place between readers from greater manchester, including andy burnham the mayor, and number ten officials. it was a virtual meeting. we have been told it has ended without agreement. a financial package for greater manchester has not been finalised, local government leaders still apparently have concerns that the hospitality industry would suffer disproportionately. mp5 from greater manchester have been briefed on the last hour and they have told our political correspondent that no final decision has been made as to whether the area will move into tier three restrictions, they are the most severe restrictions. conservative mp5 have been the most vociferous in arguing against the move. so not just vociferous in arguing against the move. so notjust labour mp5, then. matt hancock has become increasingly frustrated by the process. we are expecting to hear from frustrated by the process. we are expecting to hearfrom him in the next few minutes in the house of commons. both andy burnham and the mayor of london, sadiq khan, who

backed the capital‘s move into tier two from midnight tomorrow support the labour leader‘s proposal for an england wide circuit breaker, or a quick short, sharp lockdown to try to curb the increase of infections. as we can see, no agreement yet. disagreement between what might happen and what people want to happen and what people want to happen in some quarters. we will keep an eye on that for you and bring you more details when they emerge. the uk pub group marston‘s is to lay off 2,150 staff as a result of coronavirus restrictions on hospitality. the company said the rules, which include mandatory table service, the 10pm curfew and limits on group sizes as "hugely disappointing". the group said pub workers currently on furlough support will be impacted. many are of course hoping for an efficent vaccine to be developed so we can all avoid getting the disease and the restrictive coronavirus measures imposed to control it.

so while the world waits, china has already approved a vaccine for emergency or military use. and russia has approved not one but two vaccines for the third and final phase trial. but there‘s been scepticism internationally on the russian vaccines. 0ur correspondent in moscow is sarah rainsford. of course there have been questions and they were initially because russia was so slow to publish the science behind its trials. in the case of the first vaccine, it has now done that and published in the lancet medical magazine. the second vaccine, this epi—vac corona vaccine, the information from the phase two trials has not yet been made public. so, of course, questions still exist. it is interesting in terms of the public mood here. a lot of people are quite sceptical. a lot of people in surveys have suggested that they would not be willing to have the vaccine just yet. they are rather dubious about how effective it could be, or how safe it is.

interestingly, though, there has been a big push by officials here, many people saying publicly they have had the vaccine. most famously, president putin‘s own daughter he announced had had the first sputnik vaccine. so a big push from the official side. in the public generally, though, some scepticism and i think a lot of people waiting to see what information comes out of those phase three trials of both the first and second vaccine. and, i should say, there is a third one currently under research and they‘re expecting to be able to register that towards the end of this year. eu leaders are in brussels today where they‘ll discuss post brexit trade negotiations for the first time in months. in a phone call last night, borisjohnson told the eu commission president that he was disappointed that negotiations hadn‘t yet progressed further. 0ur brussels correspondent nick beake told us more. this was being billed as make or

break a few weeks ago, but i think stock—take is the word that you hear quite a lot here in brussels when it comes to this summit of the remaining 27 leaders of the eu. borisjohnson had remaining 27 leaders of the eu. boris johnson had actually remaining 27 leaders of the eu. borisjohnson had actually said that today would be a very hard deadline for getting a trade deal, he said this at the start of september, and that if one was not agreed today, well, that would be it. that position has changed over the last few weeks or so and the very latest we hear is that the prime minister will listen and reflect on what is agreed between eu leaders, or maybe not a lot is agreed between those leaders, and then he will say something tomorrow about the future steps that the uk will be taking in terms of trying to get a trade deal. we are going to hearfrom

we are going to hear from the health secretary, matt hancock is on his feetin secretary, matt hancock is on his feet in the house of commons. secretary, matt hancock is on his feet in the house of commonslj would like to make a statement on the coronavirus. the threat remains grave and serious. in europe, positive cases are up 40% from one week ago. and in italy, belgium and the netherlands, they have doubled in the last fortnight. here, we sadly saw the highest figure for daily deaths since earlyjune. mr speaker, let us be under no illusions about the danger posed by this virus. coronavirus is deadly and it is now spreading exponentially in the uk. we must act to prevent more hospitalisations, more deaths, and more economic damage. we know from recent history that when this virus keeps growing, u nless we that when this virus keeps growing, unless we act together, to get it under control, this is the result. 0ur under control, this is the result. our strategy is to suppress the

virus, supporting the economy, education and the nhs, and local action is at the centre of a response. the virus is not spread evenly on the situation is particularly severe in some parts of the country. through the joint bio—security centre and three nhs test and trace, we have built up a detailed picture of where and how this virus is spreading. this week‘s nhs test and trace statistics show that testing capacity is up, testing turnaround times are down, and the distance travelled four tests is down also. and thanks to this capacity and this analysis, we have been able to take a more targeted approach, keeping a close eye on the situation in local areas, bearing down hard to restrictions on a local level where they are necessary. i know that these restrictions are difficult for people. i hate the fa ct difficult for people. i hate the fact that we have to bring the men,

but it is essential that we do bring the men was to keep people safe and to prevent greater economic damage in the future. and when a virus is moving fast, we cannot stay still. if we act collectively, we know we can control the virus because we have done it before. i believe in the people of this country and i believe... in fact, the people of this country and i believe... infact, i know the people of this country and i believe... in fact, i know that the people of this country want to control this virus, to protect their loved ones, their lives, and their livelihoods. i believe from the bottom of my heart that acting together we can. we must take firm and balanced decisions to keep this virus under control. this is the only way to protect lives and livelihoods. we must act now, delayed action means more deaths from covid, it means more non—coated deaths and it means more economic

pain later because the virus comes down slower than it goes up. we should not stop... we should stop it going up in the first place, and u nless we going up in the first place, and unless we suppress the virus, we cannot return to the economy we have had. unless we suppress the virus, we cannot keep non—disease—mack nhs services going, and unless we suppress the virus, we cannot give the elderly and vulnerable safe and secure. i did not come into politics to put restrictions on people‘s lives and i want people to have as much freedom as possible, subject to not harming others, but the nature of this virus means that anyone of us can inadvertently pass it on without even knowing. that is the liberal case for action. and i believe that the british people get that. but i want that action to be as targeted as feasibly possible. local action is one of the best weapons we have, and mr speaker, we have seen how local action can

flatten the curve, for example in leicester and bolton. this is the principle that sits behind our new simpler system of local covid alert levels. i am pleased that the house approved these measures earlier this week. yesterday, i chaired a meeting of the local action committee gold command, this brings together the best data, the best clinical and public health expertise, to look at how the virus is spreading. turning first to parts of the country where prevalence of the virus is highest, discussions are ongoing with local leaders on moving from high to very high. these are areas where transmission rates are rising at the sharpest rate and where we see a very real risk to the local nhs. the liverpool city region moved into the very high level yesterday and i want to thank the local leadership for their public service and cross—party teamwork in the face of this virus. we have developed a substantial package of support for areas that enter this third tier, this includes

more support for local test and trace, more funding for local enforcement and the job support scheme, of course, alongside the offer of help from the armed services. in other areas, offer of help from the armed services. in otherareas, currently in the second tier, where discussions are ongoing, no further decisions have yet been made but we need to make rapid progress. mr speaker, turning to other areas of the country currently in the medium level, where rates are rising fast. first in london, infection rates are on each steep upward path with the number of cases doubling every ten days. the seven day average base rate stands today at 97, rising sharply. we know from the first week that the infection can spread fast and put huge pressure is on the nhs. we must act now to prevent the need for tougher measures later on. working closely with the mayor, with cross party council leadership,

local health officials and the national team, we have together agreed that london needs to move to local covid alert level high. i want to ta ke local covid alert level high. i want to take a moment to thank all those involved for their exemplary hard work. the collegiate nature of decision—making, collaborative approach, and constructive work focused on the public health and economic well—being of our citizens. two londoners, and to all who work in ourgreat two londoners, and to all who work in our great capital, i want to say thank you for what you have done to suppress the virus once. we now only to play our part in getting the virus under control once again. and i know the sacrifices this means, but i know that if we work together, we can defeat this. working with local leaders in essex and elmbridge, we are also moving them into local alert level happy. i want to pay tribute to the leadership of essex county council and in elmbridge, where they have been

working so hard to suppress the virus. mr speaker, infection rates are also rising sharply in york, north—east derbyshire, and chesterfield. in all of these places, cases or doubling in less than one fortnight. for all of the areas entering the high alert level, the change will come into effect one minutes past and night on saturday morning. this includes york, north—east derbyshire, and chesterfield, also. the central change is that people cannot now meet other households socially indoors. this applies in any setting, at home or any restaurant orany setting, at home or any restaurant or any other venue. the rule of six still applies in any outdoor setting. although you may continue to travel to open venues, you should reduce the number of journeys to travel to open venues, you should reduce the number ofjourneys where possible. i note that these measures

are not easy, but i also know that they are vital. mr speaker, responding to this unprecedented pandemic requires difficult choices. some of the most difficult choices any government has had to make in peace time. we make these decisions with a heavy heart, with the sole aim of stealing our nation through troubled waters. things will get worse before they get better, but i know that there are brighter skies and calmer seas ahead, that the ingenuity of science will find a way through. until then, we must come together because we all have a part together because we all have a part to play in defeating this dreadful disease and i commend this statement to the house. set the shadow secretary of state to reply. given what we know, about rising prevalence of the virus, given what we know about rising admissions to critical care, i totally understand

why he has had to make difficult decisions today on tier two for london and other areas including essex and chesterfield and so on. i hope you will agree that when decisions like these are made, they are most effective when made in tandem with local leaders. 0n are most effective when made in tandem with local leaders. on that point, can you just update us what is the current position with respect to greater manchester and lancashire and should we anticipate further announcements on that front later today? but also, while i do not quibble or object to the public health interventions he is making, i am afraid they are still not backed up am afraid they are still not backed up with the financial package that is needed to mitigate their impact onjobs and is needed to mitigate their impact on jobs and livelihoods. is needed to mitigate their impact onjobs and livelihoods. more people will fill into poverty and destitution, families across, for example bury and bolton, small businesses across burnley or london have been failed by the chancellor.

iurge him have been failed by the chancellor. i urge him and the government to introduce a stronger package of financial support for those areas in tier two and tier three. the british people have made tremendous sacrifice already and we are heading into the bleakest of winters. much of this could have been avoided if the misfiring 12 billion test entries system had been fixed over the summer. today, the new figures showjust 62% of contacts reached. that is equivalent to 81,000 people not reached circulating in society, even though they have been exposed to the virus. this is another record low. yesterday, we learned that consultants working on test entries are being paid over £6,000 per day to run this failing service. in a single week, the government is paying these consultants more than they pay an experienced nurse in one year. can the secretary of state explain why such huge sums of money are being paid to consultants to run

are being paid to consultants to run a service that is only getting worse? the prime minister yesterday said these new restrictions he is banging and will bring the r level below one, but while the virus growth has accelerated in northern regions, the embers are burning bright nationwide. let me repeat to the house, the tory party staff are willing to clip me again, it was saved by staff the level, a full national lockdown stretching for weeks and weeks like we had earlier, would be disastrous for society, but we are urging him to adopt a short, time—limited 2—3 week circuit break to take back control of the virus. two reboots and fix text entries, to protect nhs to save lives. sage has recommended a circuit break, nhs providers say there are urging politicians to listen to the scientific advice and move as fast and decisively. the subgroup of sage

says a circuit break of two weeks will save almost 8000 lives. for all the ponderous blustering and carping from the prime minister yesterday, he actually told the house, with some haste, as if he didn't want his backbenchers to hear it, i rule nothing out, with respect to a circuit break. the premise has not ruled it out, which we welcome, so what are the government because my criteria for a national circuit break? how many hospital admissions, how much non—disease—mack delayed, how much non—disease—mack delayed, how many more deaths? action is needed now. clancy to be put in place today. everyone accepts the government were to slow in the spring. how certain is he that his government is not making the same mistakes again with more catastrophic consequences? this is a moment in history, look around, health secretary, explained why not a circuit breaker now? if we do this ina few a circuit breaker now? if we do this in a few weeks or a few months's times, more lives and livelihoods

will be lost. in the national interest, i offer to work constructively with him today to deliver the circuit break that is now needed. thank you very much, mr speaker. as i said in my statement, discussions with local leaders in other parts of the country, greater manchester, lancashire and elsewhere are continuing. i do not want to pre—empt those discussions. those discussions do, of course, include what financial support is needed. but we have put in place, i would remind the house, we have put in place unprecedented financial support to support those who are affected. he mentions test and trace. the figures this morning, in fa ct, trace. the figures this morning, in fact, show that there have been a record high number of people who have been contacted by nhs test entries, reaching more people, testing more people faster than at

any other point. he might have seen that yesterday internationally this was commented on as an area where we have done well here in the uk. 0f course we want to make sure that we get things even faster and we have an even greater testing capacity, but i think you would do better to reflect on the progress that has been made. finally, he talks about the national circuit break idea that was the idea of the labour party that they put forward on wednesday. what i say to the honourable gentleman is, in here in this house, labour calls for a national circuit break, we take the view that we should do everything we can to control this virus where it is rising the fastest and take a more targeted approach. but the labour party cannot even get its mayors in other parts of the country where the

cases are going up to come out and support the proposals that are made from that dispatch box. what i would say is that we need to work together, we need to pull together, everybody should come together, and thatis everybody should come together, and that is the best way to defeat this virus. i support today's measures, but isn't the biggest issue we face asa but isn't the biggest issue we face as a country now uncertainty. uncertainty about our health and uncertainty about the future of the economy. given my right honourable friend's tremendous success in expanding our testing capacity, is not now the time to announce a date whether it is february, march, april of next year, by when every single person in the population will be tested every week so that, by then, irrespective of progress on a vaccine, irrespective of the success

of local lockdowns, irrespective of other uncertainties, we have a date by when we know we will get the virus under control and we know we have some prospect of returning to normality? mr speaker, my right honourable friend and i share a passion for an expansion in testing capacity in this country. he has long tried to persuade me to set yet more goals for the expansion of testing capacity. i am very glad to say we have hit every single one that we have put in place, when it was the 100,000 in spring, and we are on track to meet the 500,000 by the end of this month. after that, i very much hope we can continue to expand testing capacity and i will look at the idea he proposes very carefully. i recognised the need for this action but it is critical that those called on to isolate, whether as individuals or through a

lockdown, receive the financial support to do so. avoiding the social and economic impact of repeated local lockdowns depends on driving down community transmission through testing and tracing every single case and finding and isolating their contacts in the short window before the two become infectious. tracing systems based on local public health teams, such as in scotland, wales and now in some parts of england, have all outperformed the centralised system in england, which has barely reached three quarters of cases and well under two thirds of contacts. i welcome that local public health teams will now be directly involved in contact tracing in areas of high covid spread, but will the secretary of state now have them made contact tracing in all areas across england to help get the test, trace and isolate system working effectively?

and will he ensure that appropriate financial resources are moved to local authorities to fund this? unfortunately, the hospitality industry is being hit particularly hard, both by the virus itself and the restrictions to control it. as we now know, covid is spread by airborne particles as well as droplets, and it has become clear that ventilation is key to reducing viral spread indoors. so will the secretary of state ask the chancellor to promote the installation of filtered ventilation units by removing vat and making them tax—deductible? that way the government could help the hospitality industry make their premises more covid secure rather than having to repeatedly shut them down every time casey surge. the honourable lady talks about the

testing system, and indeed the uk by testing system, and indeed the uk by testing system, and indeed the uk by testing system is an example of this whole country working together to keep people safe. the uk system provides the majority of tests into scotla nd provides the majority of tests into scotland and works very closely with the nhs in scotland who also of course provide important testing capacity. that is an example of the local system in scotland and the uk system nationwide working together for the people of scotland. she mentions the isolation payments and i strongly agree with her on the importance of the isolation payments. again, this is a proposal that we worked on together. the uk government providing the funding delivered across england and across scotla nd delivered across england and across scotland as it is across wales and northern ireland. i think the best approach to tackling this pandemic is across the whole country, people coming together and working together as we do, between the uk government and the scottish government where an issueis and the scottish government where an issue is devolved delivering for the people of scotland.

cani can i tell the minister that no one wa nts to can i tell the minister that no one wants to let the virus rip and that language is unhelpful. i understand the government intends to shut down our country‘s economy destroying the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the process until a vaccine is found, which might never happen. and even if it does, there is no guarantee it will work. we need a plan b. i would be grateful if my right honourable friend would tell the house what that is. the plan, mr speaker, as my honourable friend and i agree, that we cannot let the virus rip. therefore, we must act to suppress it. suppressing it through local action in the first insta nce it through local action in the first instance is the best tool we have whilst we were, of course, with the scientists on technology that can help us to do that better. i put it

to my honourable friend, this is not only best for health outcomes, although that is undoubtedly true both for covid and non—covid outcomes. but it is best for economic outcomes. even though the restrictions, of course, have the impact, it is better than the consequences of action that would have to be taken to ensure that we keep the virus under control where it to get out of hand once again. to greater manchester with lucy powell. lucy powell. thank you very much. i have just come off a call with greater manchester colleagues and the secretary of state colleague about the wildly speculative move of greater manchester into tier 3. there was unanimous fury on that call about the process, about the evidence base and about the economic support packages on the table. we wa nt support packages on the table. we want action but it has to be the right action because we have lived

in tier2 right action because we have lived in tier 2 now for nearly three months and it has not worked. the chief medical officer says that measures in tier 3 will not make a material difference to the infection rate. yet they will cause widespread economic damage to our region, costing thousands of jobs, economic damage to our region, costing thousands ofjobs, tens of thousands of jobs and costing thousands ofjobs, tens of thousands ofjobs and thousands of businesses. it is not good enough that meaningful conversations only began this morning. so will he now ensured that those meaningful conversations come to a conclusion so that we can get infection rates down while protecting livelihoods and businesses? secretary of state. i would urge the honourable lady to work together for the best outcome of the people of greater manchester. of course, those conversations with the local leadership have been going on for some time. i would also urge

her to look carefully at what the chief medical officer said, because it was not as she quoted. but across greater manchester, cases are rising and they are already high and to ensure we support the nhs across greater manchester and to get this under control, action is needed fast. i thank my right honourable friend for his statement. it is absolutely right that we take measures to support the nhs and ensure it is not overwhelmed with the high rate of covid and non—covid related deaths. with increasing rate in my constituency, it is right to bring in these measures and i pay tribute to the resolve of my constituents in dealing with this and getting us through this crisis. local measures are only part of the solution. ensuring we have

sufficient nhs surge capacity to deal with high rates of cases is also there. with regards to the nightingale hospitals and nhs care, what does he anticipate the bottlenecks going forward in terms of capacity, is eight beds, staff, ventilators and other kit? what is my right honourable friend doing to tackle that bottleneck?” my right honourable friend doing to tackle that bottleneck? i welcome my honourable friend‘s approach to the thoughtful action that is needed. his constituency is connected to greater london and travel to work patterns mean a huge amount of people who live in his constituency, like him, work in the centre of london and his counsel have worked closely with the national team to make this decision. the expansion of nhs capacity is of course critical, as is controlling the virus, both of them. in london we have not yet had

to stand up the nhs nightingale again, which is at the excel centre. we are ready to do so if necessary. we are ready to do so if necessary. we have a huge quantity of ventilators, we have the nightingale hospitals for bed capacity. we have brought more people back into the nhs over the last six months and we have people on standby, retired nhs staff. and of course, it‘s the combination of the three, the kits, the physical space and the staff you need to expand capacity. unlike in manchester, where we are having to stand up the nightingale hospital again already. we are not yet at the point where we have to do that in london and i hope that pulling together and following the level two rules that the people of london can avoid that in the future. many thank you. many staff have put themselves

on the front line to protect the most vulnerable but have tragically lost their lives, leaving their families absolutely devastated. alongside support, appropriate tribute must be paid to the sacrifice. as chair of the all—party health group i have written to the prime minister and number of months ago asking for a memorial to be commissioned in their honour, but i have heard nothing back. will the secretary of state support bereaved families who have given their all and take this issue forward across government? of course, we have done a huge amount to support bereaved families and it is initially very close to my heart, as she will imagine. i will be very happy to talk to her on how we can take this forward. my right honourable friend will be aware that the world health 0rganization has recently praised hertfordshire health authorities for measuring the pulse and the feelings of our community through an online platform and they have adjusted

service provision accordingly. would my right honourable friend agreed that good, local data could enable a district approach rather than a countywide approach. in hertfordshire that the risk levels have to be reassessed. of course we look at it by district by district approach. i mentioned leicester and bolton as areas where local action has brought the virus under control. in hertfordshire, that is also true. there was a serious outbreakjust over a month ago that was brought under control by the combination of the district council, the county council and the central team all working well together, crucially supported and effectively delivered by the people of hertfordshire. supported and effectively delivered by the people of hertfordshirem march, the government was advised by the sage committee to lockdown. the government delayed despite a weak and senior scientists estimated the delay cost thousands of lives. my

fear the same mistakes are being made again. three weeks ago sage advised a circuit breaker lockdown. in coventry we have seen cases ride rapidly with more than 100 new cases in 204i rapidly with more than 100 new cases in 2041 was. before it is too late and there are tens of thousands of more avoidable deaths, i urge the secretary of state to impose a circuit breaker lockdown and bring in the economic support that will get us through this crisis. thank you very much, mr speaker. it is not an accurate description of history, but it is a reasonable... if that‘s how she feels about coventry, i would say to her that we are working with the leadership of coventry city council and if she were to talk to them as well then i would be very happy to ensure she is part of that conversation. i have been contacted by derbyshire dales constituents, sarah p, whose grandfather was taken into a care home. in may this year, he has been may read —— married men

70 years and sadly because of covid, he cannot see his wife and his family. can my right honourable friend please update the house as to what is being done to rapid testing to stop the scourge of loneliness in our care homes? i was working on this issue of how we can safely allow visiting, especially of people who have been married for 17 years, which is an extraordinary achievement in of itself, to allow visiting in a way that is safe, according to the risk level of the background rate of infection. of course, testing can be part of the solution, as can be the use of ppe properly. we have more nuanced rules in place now than there were during the first peak and i would be happy to work with my honourable friend to make sure we get this right. thank

you, mr speaker. iwelcome make sure we get this right. thank you, mr speaker. i welcome the secretary of state‘s greater attention on york announced today. but i am concerned that while in tier there are areas of the county in tier3 tier there are areas of the county in tier 3 with a lower infection rate. i do not do measures in tier 2 will be sufficient to stop the spread of the virus in our city, which, as he will know, is rising incredibly sharply and in the older population as well. york experiences a real challenges every winter because of the capacity issues at our hospital and without taking more acute action now, i am concerned we will be in serious difficulty in just a few weeks. we are expanding capacity at the hospital in york. in york there are two overlapping epidemics, one among students and one amongst the general population. as she says, this is increasing in spread in the older population, who

are, of course, the most at risk from covid. the number of cases increased by 60% in york over the last week so i welcome her support for the measures we are taking and i am happy to continue to talk to her about what more may be needed, because this is best done on a cross party, cross community basis. my message to everybody in york, a city i know and love, it is so important that all of us abide by these rules, reduce social contact and that way we can start to get the increase in the number of cases in york coming down. let's head to suffolk, doctor dan fulton. thank you, mr speaker. cani dan fulton. thank you, mr speaker. can i declare an interest as a practising nhs doctor. the secretary of state is right to introduce these measures today and he is right to see a full national lockdown as a very last resort. can i bring him

back to the issue of testing. there have been tremendous strides made in expanding national testing capacity to many hundreds of thousands a day from a standing start. but there are still specific challenges faced by a number of hospitals in terms of getting nhs staff tester. i am aware in some hospitals they are only offered 15 tests a day for their staff. could he look into this matter urgently, because it is vitally important the nhs has the staff available to treat the patients, particularly given the second wave we are now facing? absolutely, we are making very significant progress in this area. he will have seen the announcement by the nhs on monday that in tier 3 areas we are expanding the asymptomatic testing of nhs staff. we are expanding the capacity for covid tests within the nhs itself. he is absolutely right to raise it and we are making a lot of progress.

up and we are making a lot of progress. up to greater manchester with barbara keeley. studio: you can continue hear these questions about restrictions in england on the bbc news channel, but we say goodbye to viewers on bbc two. we need people to be supported to do the right thing and use enforcement powers where they don‘t. what we need from government is financial for the businesses and local authorities in tier 2 and tier 3 area so they can support employees to follow the rules. and we need to expand the staffing and resources of our excellent contact tracing services rather than pump billions into a national system which is less and less effective at contact tracing. mr speaker, we are putting in our support tracing. mr speaker, we are putting in oursupportand tracing. mr speaker, we are putting in our support and if any area goes into the third level into tier 3, you get further support. we are putting more into local test and trace, although local test entree is on its own will not work as

effectively as the partnership, which i said from the figures is improving and expanding all the time. but i welcome the fact the honourable lady recognises the sharp rise in cases in greater manchester and the need to act. i very much hope we can act on a cross—party basis, but act we must. a lot of weight has been shouldered by the joint security centre in engaging in decisions that are having the consequences for millions of people across the country. it is concerning that there wasn‘t anything in the statement from the secretary of state about the criteria for exiting these measures. but when it was created on the 20th of may, sage was told the joint bio—security centre would pursue a reputation as an organisation the public can trust. this will require them to be an exemplar in terms of honesty, openness, competence and independence. five months on and it

has not disclose the minutes of any of its meetings, the papers it is drawn on or who sits on its board, despite a commitment on its own website to do so. if it is to be the exemplar that it has been billed to be and the public can have trust in it, given the importance of these decisions, can he open it without delay? very shortly, the joint bio—security centre will make its further analysis public. it works within the department, its officials are civil servants are therefore act is different to sage in that way, sage is made up of independently employed scientists. but nevertheless, my right honourable friend makes an important point on which we are acting. as a london mp

cani which we are acting. as a london mp can i start by saying thank you for the briefing called that london mp5 had with the care minister and officials this morning about this announcement. they were a number of questions that remain unanswered in that coal and in the statement. could the secretary of state advise the house what is behind the measures he is implementing in london. what modelling has been done in the impact on how long he expects the restrictions to last? we are seeking to publish further evidence on the impact of measures. for instance, i have mentioned leicester and bolton. in bolton where the curve was flattened and in less that we brought it down with a much more strict intervention than we propose in london, we are proposing to publish further information on the analysis. the fundamental science is simple, the more people congregate, the more the virus is passed from

one to another and that is why the restriction of social activity between households indoors is an important part of restricting the spread of the virus. all those areas in level two are reviewed fortnightly and of course, if we can bring any area, including london, out of level two faster then that is even better. i am working with the cross— party even better. i am working with the cross—party london councils and the mayor in setting out more details of the way that london can exit these measures and get down to level one. ultimately, mr speaker, and as soon as possible we want to get back to level zero which is normal life. could the secretary of state please explain what formal and detailed assessment his department has made for long—term health cost, a second

blanket lockdown would have on the physical and mental, not just blanket lockdown would have on the physical and mental, notjust covid related health of the population and whether he believes it is an a cce pta ble whether he believes it is an acceptable trade—off? whether he believes it is an acceptable trade-off? mr speaker, i have looked into this in great detail, as she will imagine. my honourable friend is experienced in these areas. and the result of what i have looked at is there is no trade—off. if covid get out of hand, then that increases the non—covid ill—health and non—covid deaths also. when it comes to mental health, i was talking yesterday to the royal of psychiatrists, who are clear that a second to getting out of hand is bad for mental health, not least of the mental health impact of long covid for people who survive covid but for whom the condition lasts for months and

months, which is an issue they are close to my heart. there has been this proposition put forward that there is some trade—off between covid health and non—covid hell. having looked into it in great detail, it is false. the best way to improve the non—covid health of the nation is to make sure that covid stays under control. during a coronavirus briefing on monday the deputy chief medical officer, jonathan van tam, said it is easy to lose control and harder to regain it. and yesterday the department of health released figures that stated nearly 20,000 people had tested positive for the virus. with positive for the virus. with positive cases and hospital admission is increasing, death rates are rising and with the admission of his own scientific advisers there are many more to come. does the secretary of state believe more can be done to gain back control and stop the spread of this deadly

disease? does he believe the proper financial support is in place for people in need in these high and very high risk areas? yes, i do think more action is needed and that is why we are taking it today. mr speaker, the prime minister has been very clear in the risks of obesity to those who get coronavirus and people who are obese have a more severe disease course and those are slimmer. but in tier 3 gyms are closing and sporting activities restricted. what is the secretary of state doing to ensure we can encourage activity in people who are in those areas? perhaps a work—out to help out scheme with free online activities targeted to each age group and each physical ability? mr speaker, i love the idea of work—out to help out. it is undoubtedly true from the science i have seen that obesity contributes to worse impact on you if you catch coronavirus. it

is something the prime minister has spoken about with great passion and it is something that we want to tackle. i will absolutely look into that idea. i would also say that we have changed the proposals, both for the people who are shielding and evenin the people who are shielding and even in the highest risk, very high tier 3 areas to always be clear that outdoor exercise is a good thing. thank you very much. my constituents are being denied routine blood tests because the swiss company that surprise the labs are having supply chain issues. if one company with one supply chain problem can cause a shortage of medical components, is the secretary of state as concerned asiam the secretary of state as concerned as i am for the disruption to medical supply chains during a pandemic when we leave the eu in just over two months? mr speaker, we

have prepared now for years to ensure that we have the supplies that are needed and i have been in contact with this company over this distribution issue, which is about a distribution issue, which is about a distribution issue, which is about a distribution issue from a warehouse in england. these distribution issues do happen from time to time in very large organisations like the nhs and we are working closely with them and we thank them for all their effo rts them and we thank them for all their efforts in trying to solve this problem. i agree with the local approach my right honourable friend is taking. he has a judgment based on balancing what the science and what the economy is telling and the sustainability by public consent. i am concerned about care homes. my ca re am concerned about care homes. my care home managers tell me their staff are knackered, exhausted from covering extra shifts from other staff who are isolating and have childcare challenges. from dealing with online gp appointments because

gps will not visit the homes and dealing with angry relatives, particularly of emi residents because they cannot visit them face—to—face. what can we do to help sustain those care home staff and in particular, to approve volunteers from that massive register we have got to help share the load?|j from that massive register we have got to help share the load? i would be very happy to take up my right honourable friend‘s suggestion in terms of the volunteers. i would commend to him the social care winter plan which sets out how we balance a very difficult issues that he mentions. in my constituency there are already schools closing due to confirmed cases of coronavirus. what conversations as he had about the routine testing in schools and will the secretary of state published the science behind the decision to not introduce routine testing for teachers and tell us why schools have only been issued with ten testing kits each? we have a testing prior takes on

board that takes into account the order of priorities within testing. as testing expands, it means we can move it for more things, including schools and i look forward to being able to make the progress just as soon as we get this expansion even bigger. studio: there we have the health secretary fielding a lot of questions from mp5 on both sides of the house regarding the decisions that are being made with regards to those restrictions that are changing in england. let‘s see what the situation is like in scotland and go to edinburgh whether first minister nicola sturgeon has been addressing the scottish parliament on the coronavirus situation in the nation. as you know, the scottish government is legally required to review covid restrictions regularly. the latest review is due tomorrow and i will shortly set out our conclusions and

the regions for those. i want to give an update on developments, firstly the laying of new regulations and face coverings and the publication of further details on how businesses affected by the temporary restrictions announced last week can apply for support. and lastly i will talk a bit about the scottish government‘s proposed new strategic approach on tackling covid and how we intend to involve parliament in the development agreement and implementation of that approach. but first i will give an update on the daily covid statistics. the total number of positive cases reported yesterday was 1351. that represents 17.6% of people newly tested and takes the total number of cases to 44,036. 450 of the new cases were in greater glasgow and clyde and 374 in

lanarkshire. 161 in lothian and 111 in ayrshire and arran. the remaining cases were spread across all of the other mainland health board areas. 601 people are currently in hospital, which is an increase of 31 since yesterday. 51 people are currently in intensive care, to more than yesterday. and i very much regret to report that in the past 24 hours an additional 13 deaths have been registered. the first tested positive over the previous 28 days and that means the total number of deaths under the measure used in our daily figures is 2585. once again, i wa nt to daily figures is 2585. once again, i want to send my deepest condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to everyone who has lost a loved one to this illness. these figures confirm the trends of recent weeks. we are seeing high numbers of increasing cases leading to hospital and intensive care admissions and

sadly, a rising number of deaths. even in the nine days since i set out the new restrictions on hospitality the average daily new numbers of cases has risen from 788 to 1178. the number of people in hospital with covid has increased from 262 to 601 and the number of people in intensive care has doubled from 25 to 51. however, for all that, it is still the case that we are ina that, it is still the case that we are in a stronger position than in march. infection levels are still lower, cases are rising less quickly and test and protect has taken a lot of the strain of controlling the virus. although we are not yet seen the impact of this in our statistics, we acted quickly to introduce restrictions on household gatherings three weeks ago and on hospitality last week. the fact remains for us, as countries across the world, this is a critical moment

and is our position is precarious. that demands tough decisions from government, even if those decisions are understandably unwelcome. it also demands a willingness on the pa rt also demands a willingness on the part of each and every one of us to behave in ways that will hinder the virus, rather than help it spread. for all these reasons i must confirm to parliament that all of the existing covid restrictions and guidance will remain in place for now. that means we should continue to work from home, if at all possible. none of us should visit other people‘s houses except for extended household arrangements or child care and looking after a vulnerable person. i have doors or indoor public places that are open, we must limit gatherings to a maximum of six people for no more than two households. bars, restau ra nts a nd cafes, than two households. bars, restaurants and cafes, outside the five health board areas with tougher restrictions can only open indoors

until six o‘clock for the service of food and nonalcoholic drinks. pubs, bars and food and nonalcoholic drinks. pubs, bars a nd restau ra nts food and nonalcoholic drinks. pubs, bars and restaurants in greater glasgow and clyde, lanarkshire, ayrshire and arran must remain closed completely indoors and outdoors. cafes in these areas can open until six o‘clock only. people living in any one of the central scotla nd living in any one of the central scotland area should not travel outside their own area unless they really need to and people in other parts of scotland should not travel to those areas unless it is absolutely necessary. we are asking people to avoid travel to areas of high risk in other parts of the uk. the detail of which areas are in these categories will be kept updated on the scottish government website. we are specifically asking people not to go on trips to blackpool unless necessary. yesterday i said that over under an 8o yesterday i said that over under an 80 people had tested positive for covid had tested positive after

travelling from blackpool. that number has risen. these restrictions are hard, hard for individuals and businesses, but they are essential. the mirror what many countries across europe are doing and we hope and believe that they will have an impact on transmission. however, i must be clear that we will keep the situation under review and propose further measures if we consider that to be necessary to keep people safe. and i will say more shortly about how we will approach decisions in the weeks ahead. firstly though, let me touch on to other matters, i indicated to parliament last week our intention to introduce new regulations on face coverings. i can confirm that regulations are being laid today and two measures will come into force tomorrow. the regulations in one respect will actually deliver some flexibility, they will exempt a couple from having to wear a face covering during their marriage or civil partnership ceremony. this is a small but important change, which i hope will be welcomed by anyone

about to tie the knot. however, more significantly, the regulations will bring the rules and wearing face coverings in workplace canteens into line with rules in restaurants and cafe is. from tomorrow, anyone in a workplace canteen will have to wear a face covering when they are not seated at a table. for example, if they are queueing or entering or leaving the canteen are going to the bathroom. a further change will take effect on monday, this will require face coverings to be worn in other communal workplace areas such as corridors. the responsibility for complying with these measures rest with individuals, but i would encourage employers to take steps in their workplaces to explain and promote the new regulations. the new rules are a proportionate additional step which will help employees keep themselves and their colleagues that bit safer. the second issue i want to touch briefly relates to support for business. i made clear that we would support businesses and workers affected by the temporary

restrictions announced last week. in total, we are making £40 million of support available. that includes a £20 million grant fund which will be administered by local authorities. details of the application process for that fund have just been published, or arejust for that fund have just been published, or are just about to be published, or are just about to be published, and the scottish government‘s website. local authority websites will be updated next tuesday to allow applications to be made and it will be possible for businesses to apply at any time in the two weeks after that. i would encourage all eligible businesses who need support to apply. there is, after all, an important principle here. many businesses are being required to take drastic action to help us tackle covid, and so it is essential that we take significant action to help them also. the new regulations on face coverings and the availability of support for businesses are the two immediate issues i wanted to highlight today. but i also want to look ahead briefly to our approach to managing the virus in the weeks and months to

come. last week, we introduced tough, temporary measures affecting hospitality in particular. the regulations giving effect to these temporary restrictions on hospitality are due to expire on the 26th of october. however, it is important to stress, though i believe everybody already understands this point, given the ongoing challenge of covid, that will not herald a return to complete normality. the restrictions on household gatherings, for example, will remain in place until it is considered safe to ease them. more generally, we intend to replace the temporary restrictions with a new strategic approach to managing the pandemic. part of this new strategic approach will set out the different tiers or levels of intervention and restrictions which may be applied in future, either locally or across scotland, depending on how the virus is spreading. when we publish this new framework, which will then be subject to debate and decision by parliament, we will indicate based on the latest advice from the

national incident management team and from our clinical advisers what level of intervention to apply to each part of the country when the temporary restrictions end on the 26th of october. the tiered approach to intervention will clearly be a central part of the new strategic framework. however, iwant central part of the new strategic framework. however, i want to stress that the framework will go beyond that. it will also seek to strengthen and improve the effectiveness of measures which we currently have in place to strengthen our resilience to live with this virus for the period ahead. for example, it will set out our work to improve compliance with the facts advice, with a particular focus on supporting people to self—isolate when they are asked to do so by test and protect. it will also outline the support we will make available in future for businesses if they are required to close. it will describe how we will continue to support people on low incomes, for whom the covid

restrictions can have especially harsh impacts. and it will draw on the conclusions of our ongoing review of our testing strategy. it will set out our future predictions of testing capacity and also the clinical decisions that we have reached on how that capacity can be most effectively used to suppress the virus during the winter months. in the week ahead, we intend to share and discuss the provisional content share and discuss the provisional co nte nt of share and discuss the provisional content of the strategic framework with other parties. cross—party engagement will include the offer to party waiters of a detailed briefing session with myself, the health secretary and the government‘s key advisers early next week. we are also facilitating discussions on how parliament as a whole can better scrutinise this forthcoming framework and future changes to covid regulations more regularly. a global pandemic of an infection virus will often acquire emergency action and quick legislation, but as we prepare to live with this virus

foran we prepare to live with this virus for an extended period, we recognise that this imperative must be balanced by the need for robust, and whenever possible, pre—emptive parliamentary scrutiny. we therefore intend to work across the chamber and across wider society to ensure that we get this balance right in the weeks and months ahead. 0ne that we get this balance right in the weeks and months ahead. one of the weeks and months ahead. one of the reasons why that is so important is precisely because we are at such a critical and precarious point in our journey a critical and precarious point in ourjourney through a critical and precarious point in our journey through this a critical and precarious point in ourjourney through this pandemic. scotla nd ourjourney through this pandemic. scotland has already acted first among the nations of the uk in applying tough restrictions. we have done so at a time when our levels of covid, although far too high for comfort, are actually covid, although far too high for comfort, a re actually lower covid, although far too high for comfort, are actually lower than in other uk nations. i believe and expect that this will make a difference. although we have put in place tough measures, we cannot rule out having to go further in the future. for example, the approach to travel being adopted by the welsh government to mitigate the spread of

the virus from high to low prevalence areas, notjust within each of the four uk nations but also where necessary between the four uk nations needs to be considered here also, and is being considered here. as we consider these issues, plan future steps, and where necessary ta ke future steps, and where necessary take emergency action, we will seek to ensure that parliament is fully informed and involved in these decisions. the final point i want to make today are about contexts, perspective and individual agency. i make these points to acknowledge not in any way to minimise what we are all going through right now. i am acutely aware that as we enter winter, with restriction still in place and mounting worries for many aboutjobs place and mounting worries for many about jobs and livelihoods, place and mounting worries for many aboutjobs and livelihoods, it can be hard to escape feelings of despair and helplessness. iwant be hard to escape feelings of despair and helplessness. i want to encourage everyone hold onto some cute truths and to the hope that

comes from these. firstly, this pandemic will not last forever. it will pass and we will hopefully soon be able to foresee a time when we can be able to foresee a time when we ca n start be able to foresee a time when we can start to talk about it in the past tense. second, we are not alone, either as a country or as individuals. this is a global pandemic. countries across the world are going through exactly the same as we are going through and they are taking the same decisions scotland is being forced to take. you‘re in the uk, northern ireland has introduced tough new curbs in the past 48 hours, reflecting the very high prevalence of the virus they are. additional restrictions are being introduced in parts of england, and as i mentioned, wales is introducing further restrictions on travel. across europe, restrictions on hospitality and other facets of everyday life have been reintroduced recently in belgium, netherlands, france, spain, germany, ireland and many other

countries as well. governments and populations around the world are wrestling with how to tackle and live with this virus and we must try to learn from each other. here at home, i know many are struggling with feelings of loneliness, isolation and anxiety, but support, both practical and emotional, is available if you need it. you can find details of it on the nhs website. as we deal with the difficult few months that lie head, let‘s all remember to be kinder to each other than we might normally be, look out for people, offer help if you can, and remember this is no one‘s fault. 0ur experiences are different, i know, but this pandemic is something that we are all living through. none of us are exempt from the impact and we are all finding it hard. the impact and we are all finding it ha rd. let‘s the impact and we are all finding it hard. let‘s try to help each other as much as we possibly can. i know it can sound cliche but i will make no apology for saying that love,

kindness and solidarity are more important now than ever before. even just a smile and a kind word can help make a tough day slightly better, so never ever underestimate the difference we can all make any ways large and small to help each other through this difficult period. thirdly, remember this, we cannot magic it away unfortunately, or guarantee that we will not get it or pass it on. none of us are powerless against this virus. we can all, we must all, behave and act in ways that will stop it in its tracks that will stop it in its tracks that will stop it in its tracks that will make us safer as individuals and help protect our loved ones and the wider community and the nhs. it will save lives. difficult and frustrating though i know it is, please abide by all of the rules and all of the guidance. it is therefore our individual and collective protection. finally, rememberfacts. these collective protection. finally, remember facts. these coverings protect other people and they help

other people protect you. avoiding places with crowds of people also protects you and others. cleaning your hands and surfaces does that also. keeping two metres distance from other households reducing the chance of the virus spreading from one person to another. self isolating and getting a test if you have symptoms will break the chains of transmission also. now more than ever it is vital for all of us to follow all of this advice, to do everything we can to beat covid back. by doing so, we will protect ourselves, we will protect those we love, and we will protect our communities. we will help our nhs ca re communities. we will help our nhs care for those who need it and above all we will save lives. thank you. thank you, first minister. i intend to allow about 15 minutes for members to ask questions, starting with party leaders. yourfirst question from ruth davidson.”

with party leaders. yourfirst question from ruth davidson. i thank the first minister for advance sight of her statement, and myself and my party to family and loved ones of those who have lost their lives in re ce nt those who have lost their lives in recent days. in the last week, we have seen outbreaks of covid close wards at both the queen elizabeth hospital in glasgow and the western infirmary, the edinburgh outbreak in my constituency has been particularly devastating. focusing as it has... visitors to patients in other words and those being treated in the affected wards itself. by definition, being surprised and told they cannot read a world where covid is present. investigations are under way to establish how the virus was brought onto the virus and would seek to prejudge the outcome of those investigations. neither, given what we have seen of isolation and end—of—life care during the pandemic, would we seek to further

restrict patients from seeing their loved ones in such circumstances, but patients, staff and visitors need reassurance that everything possible is being done to stop the transmission of covid in hospital settings and to ensure as far as possible that those who may be asymptomatic at do not bring the infection on hospital estates. from both constituency, issues have been raised about checks and controls once people have come on to each campus. to that end, can the first minister say whether further infection control measures such as temperature testing being considered ona temperature testing being considered on a word by word basis across scotland's hospitals?” on a word by word basis across scotland's hospitals? i am afraid the sound quality was a bit bad but hopefully the first minister can a nswer hopefully the first minister can answer that question. can i apologise in advance, it was very difficult to hear and the sound was breaking up. i‘ve certainly got the general thrust of the question but i did not necessarily get all of the

detail, but i will do my best to a nswer detail, but i will do my best to answer it on the basis of what i was able to hear. hospital—acquired infection at any time is a concern, particularly right now in the context of covid. we are advised on the steps that it is necessary and appropriate to take by the national antimicrobial association infections body and we take their advice and will continue to take their advice. there are a number of steps in place and sometimes, i know the impact this has on individuals, it includes restricting visiting to hospital and a range of other measures that are in place. a number of groups of people are tested going into hospital, that includes all admissions of people over 70, all i see you in admissions, in patients, all those going on for organ transplants, and all inpatients including those who are asymptomatic

in wards with an outbreak, and of course people who are discharged into ca re course people who are discharged into care homes are tested as well. in response to what i think ruth davidson‘s asked about the possibility of introducing temperature checks, we will continue to keep all of that under review and ta ke to keep all of that under review and take decisions based on clinical advice. the other point i would make is we publish weekly now figures on hospital—acquired infections. and we continue, the health secretary and i. continue, the health secretary and i, to be updated and advised by the chief nursing 0fficer i, to be updated and advised by the chief nursing officer and deputy chief nursing officer and deputy chief nursing officer and deputy chief nursing 0fficer about the situation in particular words and hospitals, and the steps that are being taken in infection vision and control. both in the sense of venting covid getting into hospitals and preventing its transmission in hospitals is of paramount importance and we will continue to make sure everything possible is done including, my final point, the provision of appropriate ppe for those who work in our hospitals. can

i also thank first minister for advance sight of her statement and cani advance sight of her statement and can i also add our condolences to all of those who have lost loved ones to convert at 19 over the last week. i have spoken many times before about the importance of public consent in the back and forth public consent in the back and forth public health measures in the fight against the pandemic. and now we have seen the minutes of the sage meeting on the 21st of september, attended by scottish government advisers, we now know that they concluded that over the course of the next 6—9 months multiple circuit brea kers the next 6—9 months multiple circuit breakers may be needed. that testing must be a priority. they also said that to be effective, measures must be, in their words, that to be effective, measures must be, in theirwords, consistent without ambiguity or contradiction, that they should be equality

proofed, and again in their words, co—produced with the early engagement of those most likely to be affected. despite this, the first minister last week chose measures which were imposed with no engagement of those affected, which have resulted in ambiguity and confusion, and which will hit ha rd est confusion, and which will hit hardest those on the lowest incomes. meanwhile, the current test and trace strategy and system is not good enough. so can the first minister explain to us why she ignored that scientific advice? the scottish government absolutely did not ignore the scientific advice from sage. in fact, if we look at the actions of government across the uk, the scottish government acted to implement many of the recommendations they made. as i have set out previously, governments have

to ta ke set out previously, governments have to take account of the scientific advice and of course the further we go into this pandemic, we must balance the imperative of stopping the virus with the harms that are done through some of the measures that we have to use to do that. we have to reach balanced decisions that stop the virus, protect people‘s jobs and livelihoods, that stop the virus, protect people‘sjobs and livelihoods, and wider well—being, and health as well. if we look at the recommendations that were made by sage on the 21st of september, one of those was a nationwide ban on people visiting other people‘s houses. we introduce that on the 22nd of september. we were the only government in the uk at that time to do that. the sage advice also said that there should be restrictions on hospitality, we introduced significant restrictions on hospitality nationwide last week, and even more significant restrictions in fife health board areas across central scotland.

richard leonard has, last week and today, race criticisms of the government, as he is entitled to do, for doing that. the other advice which has been consistent is to work from home where possible and, although we did not move to a com pletely although we did not move to a completely online approach to university education because we believe it is important for young people to have some semblance of normality in their student life, we put in place tough guidance to help universities manage the start of the term. actually, the scottish government, and a lot of this has been done at a time when our schools we re been done at a time when our schools were starting to go into the holiday period, so i would argue that the scottish government has taken the sage advice and implemented that. two final points i would make. firstly, public consent and support, i agree with that very strongly. it is one of the reasons i, every day, speak directly to the public and ta ke speak directly to the public and take questions from the media because i think it is important to

co nsta ntly because i think it is important to constantly set out not just our decisions but our reasons for them. i believe there is strong public support for the approach we are taking. that is not the same missing the public are happy are welcome all of these restrictions, but i believe the public understand why they are so important. secondly, i agree that they are needs to be the right balance struck between the need to, asi balance struck between the need to, as i set out in my remarks to take quick decisive action in the face of a pandemic of infectious virus, but have as much consultation and engagement as possible. that is particularly important was going to the next phase. that is why i set out the approach we will take to parliamentary engagement starting next week and we will seek to consult with wider society as much as possible. but i will make no apology, on occasion, given the nature of the threat we are dealing with, are being prepared to take quick, firm and decisive action if we deem that is necessary to save lives. patrick harvey. thank you,

presiding officer. as others have done, cani presiding officer. as others have done, can i add my deepest sympathy to those who have lost someone due to those who have lost someone due to this virus. 0ur concern for those who are still suffering for it. i think the first minister for her statement and welcome, in particular, the fact that it recognised that a new framework must give greater emphasis on supporting those who need to self—isolate. this is the area that clearly needs more attention. the first minister has also said that the review of the testing strategy will be done at the same time. we will see the outcome of that review at the same time as the new framework. yesterday, though, we learned that the september meeting of the review group, which the first minister mentioned, already approved a new testing strategy for hospitals in line with that published by the european cdc. that means a greater role for regular, weekly, routine testing. i welcome this, but can the

first minister say why this decision was taken in advance of the review of the general testing strategy? have other decisions be made in advance of that strategy and does the signal then new acceptance on the signal then new acceptance on the part of the scottish government that routine, weekly testing on a much bigger scale than we have seen to date as a critical role to play in tackling the virus? my apologies. we have not reached final decisions on the review of the testing strategy. that review is under way. the session that i mentioned in my remarks that party leaders will be invited to an early next week will be an opportunity to share our current thinking and get views of party leaders... yes, we have not just in scotland but many countries have had decisions to make about the balance between symptomatic testing, which has to be the priority... the

first minister, nicola sturgeon, answering questions on her daily coronavirus briefing. the labour mp for manchester central, lucy powell, says there was ‘unanimous fury‘ about the process, evidence base and economic support pakacgaes on the table during during talks earlier today. discussions between the government and the local leaders of greater manchester and lancashire, about imposing england‘s highest level of restrictions, have i have just i havejust come i have just come off a colt with greater manchester colleagues and the secretary of state‘s colleague about the widely speculated move of greater manchester into tier three. there was unanimous fury on that call about the process, about the evidence base, and about the economic support packages on the table. we want action but

it has to be the right action because we have lived in tier two now for nearly three months and it is not worked. the chief medical 0fficer is not worked. the chief medical officer says that measures in tier three will not make a material difference to the infection rate. yes, they will cause widespread economic damage to our region, costing thousands of jobs, economic damage to our region, costing thousands ofjobs, tens of thousands of jobs, and costing thousands ofjobs, tens of thousands ofjobs, and thousands of businesses. it is not good enough that conversations, meaningful conversations, only began this morning. so will he now ensure that those meaningful conversations come toa those meaningful conversations come to a conclusion so that we can get infection rates down while protecting livelihoods and businesses? i would urge the honourable lady to work together for the best outcome of the people of greater manchester. 0f the best outcome of the people of greater manchester. of course those conversations with the local leadership in manchester had been going on for some time. i would also

urge herto going on for some time. i would also urge her to look carefully at what the chief medical officer said because it was not as she quoted. i would also point out that across greater manchester, cases are rising and they are already high, and to ensure that we support the nhs across greater manchester, and get this under control, action is needed fast. the health secretary matt hancock. now it‘s time for a look at the weather with nick miller. hello. no weather drama around for us at the moment. it is fairly quiet. a reasonably settled going into the weekend. that is a weather pattern that they were south—west england, south wales with the lion‘s share of the sunshine over the next few days. further north and east you are, this is where you are going to see more cloud. and even though we have got high pressure, the chance of seeing a few showers as we are today. around that area of high pressure, this easterly breeze is bringing in some cloud and indeed some showers as well. most of those this afternoon are across parts of eastern scotland, especially towards the south—east, northern england and down

the eastern side of england. as we go on deeper into the day, some of these will drift west, reaching towards north wales, the midlands, the west country as we go into the evening. these temperatures, sunshine or cloud, are a bit below average for the time of year. as we go into tonight, we will keep some of this cloud moving in. a lot of cloud will spread westwards across scotland, taking some light rain or drizzle with it. from the cloud running in towards england and parts of wales, you mayjust pick up one or two showers. it mayjust push towards the south of northern ireland later in the night. for most of us, tempt your staying well above freezing, but if you get some clear spells in scotland towards the west, you may well end up close to freezing as we start the day tomorrow. into tomorrow, it is that mix of some sunshine but some cloud around. a bit more cloud than we have seen today, but again south wales, south—west england, maybe towards northern ireland and northern counties of northern england, this is where we will see most of friday‘s sunshine. where you have the cloud, again, a few showers

moving in from the east, or in scotland the chance of seeing some light rain or drizzle. temperatures not changing very much. they will not indeed over the weekend, as well. winds are reasonably light, fair amount of cloud around, some sunny spells coming through. most places are dry. again, you could pick up a light shower on saturday, perhaps a little bit of light rain or drizzle where the cloud is thickest, and a similar picture going into sunday as well. you will notice that very little is changing over the next few days. wall—to—wall sunshine, fair amount of cloud, little bit damp in some spots, but nowhere particularly wet. just a bit cooler in scotland by the time we get to sunday. there are changes in the weather, though, going into next week. high pressure clears away and low pressure comes back, and by the middle of next week, the weather is much more active, wetter and windier.

millions of people in england will face tougher coronavirus restrictions from this weekend — with no household mixing indoors. london and some surrounding areas will move from the "medium" to "high" alert level — but there‘s still no agreement about greater manchester. in other areas, currently on the second tier, where discussions are ongoing, no further decisions have yet been made, but we want to make rapid progress. discussions were held this morning about moving greater manchester into the highest level — but local leaders say they need a better financial deal. there was unanimous fury on that call about the process, about the evidence base, and about the economic support packages on the table.